Until the show became a hit.
Shonda Rhimes Says Hollywood Foreign Press Rejected Her 'Bridgerton' Press Conference Request
Shonda Rhimes is one of the most successful showrunners right now. Maybe you've heard of her? She's the brains behind major TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and, most recently, an executive producer on Bridgerton. So, she's not afraid to call out the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for refusing to hold a press conference for the record-breaking Netflix hit. Rhimes recently retweeted an article from The Wrap exposing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's bias against Black creators and offered some insight of her own.
“HFPA rejected our press conference. Until it was a 'surprise hit' (Grey's, Scandal, Murder -SURPRISE!) And yet they STILL asked me to show up in person to present at the Globes. We're not the only ones. This is why HFPA's house is on fire,” Rhimes tweeted. “They lit the flame w/their own ignorance.”
https://twitter.com/shondarhimes/status/1371923675700596736
The article Rhimes retweeted is an exclusive from The Wrap about how the HFPA rejected requests to hold press conferences for a variety of recent projects , including Girls Trip and Queen & Slim. This is more evidence of the obvious discrimination within the association that holds the Golden Globe Awards.
“All three projects submitted requests through their studio or streaming distributor to hold press conferences with the 87-member organization and were turned down for lack of interest or other reasons, according to individuals close to each project,” the publication reports, according to The Root. “None wound up receiving a single Globe nomination.”
After the 2021 Golden Globe nominations, it was revealed that the group of international journalists responsible for giving out Golden Globes does not have one Black member. Variety notes that the HFPA hasn’t had a Black member for at least 20 years.
Shonda Rhimes shared a post from Time's Up about the lack of representation within the HFPA. “Enough is enough,” she wrote as the caption. Time’s Up president and CEO Tina Tchen released a statement this month about the HFPA agreeing to address its diversity problem: “So NBCUniversal, Dick Clark Productions, and the HFPA just declared that they have a plan to fix problems they’ve ignored for decades."
The statement continued, "We’re not so sure. On behalf of the many artists who look to us to hold the HFPA’s feet to the fire on the racism, disrespect, misogyny, and alleged corrupt financial dealings of the Golden Globes, we need to see specific details, timetables for change, and firm commitments. The right words are not enough. The clock is ticking."
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Paulina Jayne Isaac
