What’s At Stake, Who’s Presenting And How Did The Awards Emerge From Controversy

Topline

The Golden Globe Awards will return to NBC on Tuesday after the network refused to air last year’s ceremony amid criticism the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the show’s voting body — did not have any Black members.

Golden Globe statuettes are seen during a 2009 news conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in … [+] Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

AP2009

Key Facts

The Golden Globes will air on Tuesday, January 10 on NBC and will be hosted by comedian and actor Jerrod Carmichael.

The awards ceremony hasn’t been televised in two years after a 2021 expose by the Los Angeles Times revealed the small organization of international film writers that awards the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, did not have any Black members, prompting intense criticism and boycotts of the ceremony.

The Los Angeles Times expose also detailed the HFPA’s questionable membership and financial practices, including smear campaigns and threats levied by members of the group against journalists seeking membership, as well as members selling tickets to the ceremony for high prices.

The HFPA approved reforms in August 2021, consisting of amendments to the membership application process with a focus on recruiting Black members, as well as a commitment to hire human resources and diversity officers — Neil Phillips was hired as Chief Diversity Officer three months later.

The HFPA also invited 103 new voters, more than doubling the size of its voting body (though they are not official members of the HFPA) — now, 10% of the body’s voting members are Black, 19.5% are Latinx, 12% are Asian and 10% are Middle Eastern.

Though the HFPA failed to secure celebrity presenters for last year’s untelevised ceremony and few celebrities acknowledged their wins, which were announced online, a number of big names — including nominees Jamie Lee Curtis and Ana de Armas, as well as Quentin Tarantino, Tracy Morgan and Billy Porter — reportedly will present at this year’s ceremony, suggesting a return to normalcy for the Globes.

The Banshees of Inisherin leads among film contenders with eight nominations, including Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy, followed by Everything Everywhere All At Once with six nominations and Babylon and The Fabelmans with five each.

On the television side, Abbott Elementary leads with five nominations, followed by The White Lotus, Dahmer, The Crown, Pam & Tommy, and Only Murders in the Building — each with four nominations.

Key Background

The Golden Globes and the HFPA are no strangers to controversy. Corruption allegations date back decades, while the lack of diversity of nominees has faced criticism in recent years — particularly in 2021, a disastrous year for the Globes. Emily in Paris — a Netflix comedy that debuted to lukewarm reviews and was not regarded as a serious awards contender — drew criticism for receiving two nominations as Black actors and writers from critically acclaimed shows, like Michaela Coel of I May Destroy You and Issa Rae of Insecure, were snubbed. A Los Angeles Times report revealed Paramount Network flew out 30 members of the HFPA to Paris to visit the Emily in Paris set and paid for a two-night stay at a five-star hotel, fueling corruption rumors. Several acclaimed Black-led films were also left out of the best motion picture categories, including Judas and the Black Messiah, which was later nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Following the controversial slate of nominations in 2021 and the revelation that the HFPA had no Black members, celebrities and studios publicly criticized the Globes. Actors including Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo demanded change, while Netflix and Amazon vowed to stop doing business with the HFPA until they implemented reforms. In May 2021, Tom Cruise returned his three Globes in protest of the organization’s lack of diversity.

What To Watch For

Will outspoken critics nominated at this year’s ceremony take home a Globe? Brendan Fraser, nominee for Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama for The Whale, declined to attend this year’s ceremony, citing as a reason his past accusation that former HFPA president Philip Berk groped him in 2003 — he told GQ his mother “didn’t raise a hypocrite.” Berk has denied any wrongdoing, and an HFPA inquiry found that Berk did touch Fraser, but believed his actions were intended to be received as a “joke.” Fraser has won over film critics with his performance, regarded as his comeback to film, and is regarded as a frontrunner to win the Academy Award for Best Actor — which would ordinarily put him in serious contention for a Globe win.

Tangent

No women were nominated for the Best Director Golden Globe this year, including awards season hopefuls Sarah Polley of Women Talking and Gina Prince-Bythewood of The Woman King. The last two Best Director Globes, however, went to women: Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog and Chloé Zhao for Nomadland.