The Golden Globes, long considered an integral part of Hollywood’s award season, has been canceled for 2022. NBC, the network that normally hosts the award show, won’t be airing it next year, effectively killing it for the next award season. The network’s reasoning is simple: the Hollywood Free Press Association needs to reform and has failed to do so.
The HFPA is the organization responsible for putting together the Golden Globes. However, many in the entertainment industry have criticized the group, accusing them of racism in their selection practices and of having very little diversity among their ranks.
NBC Kills the Golden Globes
NBC announced through a spokesperson that they won’t be carrying the Golden Globes next year. “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”
Technically, this doesn’t mean the 2022 award show is canceled. However, the lack of a network to carry the show also means the lack of sponsorship money from commercials, making it exceedingly unlikely the HFPA will actually carry on with the show.
Is This the End of the Globes?
The HFPA is facing serious accusations of a culture of racism, sexism, and general unprofessional conduct. Actress Scarlett Johansson has accused the group of subjecting herself and other women to sexist questions during interviews. Actor Tom Cruise, in solidarity with the protests against the HFPA, has returned all three of his Golden Globes.
The group has also faced accusations of racism, with detractors noting the lack of black members among the organization. Likewise, those protesting the group have pointed out that the HFPA regularly rejects requests for press conferences from projects with Black-led casts. Recent examples include rejecting a request from Bridgerton, the breakout Netflix period drama, which caught attention for its anachronistic black casting decisions.
Director Ava DuVernay, who is black, has tweeted about her experiences with the HFPA, adding that she felt as though she was being asked questions by reporters who had simply not seen her show. Philip Berk, the HFPA’s former president, was ousted from that role after sharing an article that claimed the Black Lives Matter movement is a “racist hate group”. At the time of this writing, it is unclear whether the organization will make sufficient reforms to bring the Golden Globes back on the air.
