NBC drops next year's Golden Globes over diversity row

LOS ANGELES - The future of the Golden Globes was plunged into jeopardy Monday as NBC canceled its broadcast of next year's prestigious awards, after major Hollywood studios and stars such as Scarlett Johansson lined up to slam the organizers over their record on diversity and transparency.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, comprised of some 90 journalists who vote for Tinseltown's second-biggest annual film and television awards, has been under fire for months following widespread allegations of racism, sexism, bullying and corruption among its ranks.

Last week the group approved a raft of reforms to become "more inclusive and diverse" by an "overwhelming" margin, hoping to draw a line under months of negative publicity.

But the backlash from Hollywood has been fierce, with A-listers such as Johansson and Mark Ruffalo and powerful executives lining up to condemn the changes as too slow, lacking in specifics and failing to address some of the industry's most fundamental grievances.

"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," the awards' long-standing broadcaster NBC said in a statement.

"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."

The development -- a potentially fatal blow to the awards and the organization itself, which relies heavily on the Globes' television rights for its funding -- comes days after Netflix and Amazon Studios said they would not work with the HFPA until more "meaningful" and "significant" changes were made.

Warner Bros piled in earlier Monday with a letter to HFPA president Ali Sar saying the organization's plan does not go "far enough."

Warner's film and TV branches will "refrain from direct engagement," including providing stars to speak at HFPA-only press conferences, and invitations for the group's members to attend exclusive industry events, until urgent and meaningful change is guaranteed.

The letter also hit out at the HFPA for failing to confront long-standing criticisms about a lack of diversity and the conduct of some of its members, who range from bona fide journalists at major international publications to semi-retired and obscure individuals who rarely work for any mainstream outlets.

"We are keenly aware of how much harder we've had to lobby to secure press conferences for a number of Black performers and creators, representing unquestionably worthy content," said the letter shared with Hollywood trade outlet Deadline.

"This same work has often then gone unrecognized in your nomination and awards process."

AFP