What Exactly Is Going on With the 2022 Golden Globes?
Just a week before the 2021 Golden Globe ceremony, the Los Angeles Times published a devastating exposé on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the awards. Despite hosting one of the most high-profile awards ceremonies in the world, the HFPA had long maintained a shroud of mystery around its membership and protocols. But thanks to the fallout from the Times's coverage, that shroud has been dramatically shredded, and now the future of the Globes is in question. Here's a quick guide to exactly what's going on.
The Golden Globes controversy has been a long time coming.
Since February, the HFPA has become embroiled in a series of major controversies. Firstly, the LA Times article detailed a "culture of corruption" which included improperly subsidizing its members' income, arbitrarily withholding membership from qualified candidates, creating a monopoly on international press access in Hollywood, and breaching journalistic ethics by accepting thousands of dollars' worth of gifts from studios.
The article also revealed, damningly, that none of the HFPA's 87 members are Black. Former HFPA president Meher Tatner later admitted that no Black journalist has been a member for almost two decades. This admission came after the 2021 Globe nominations had already come under fire for overlooking several Black-led movies, which outlets such as Variety noted was part of a long-standing pattern.
Shortly after the Times article, the HFPA released a statement saying “We are fully committed to ensuring our membership is reflective of the communities around the world who love film, TV, and the artists inspiring and educating them. We understand that we need to bring in Black members, as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible.”
But the damage was already very much done. In the days following the article, more than 100 PR firms threatened to cut ties with the HFPA, while Golden Globe winners including Shonda Rhimes and Sterling K Brown spoke out against its systemic lack of diversity.
HFPA's plan to address its issues was not well received.
In May, the HFPA unveiled its plan for diversity and ethical reform. The plan involved admitting at least 20 new members before the end of 2021, with an emphasis on recruiting Black journalists, and a longer-term goal of increasing the membership by 50%. The organization also announced that it would bring in restrictions on the types of gifts members could accept.
This announcement was met with skepticism from many in Hollywood, including Time's Up, which released a statement questioning the specifics of HFPA's plan, and director Ava DuVernay, who wrote: "So, the board is gonna oversee its own reform? Same board that oversees and benefits from the current practices and has knowingly perpetuated the HFPA’s corrupt dealings and racial inequity for decades? Got it.”
NBC announced that it will not air the Golden Globes in 2022.
Days after HFPA announced its plan, the powers that be at NBC made it clear that they were unimpressed. The network, which has aired the Globes for 25 years, announced that it would not air the ceremony in 2022, because HFPA was not moving swiftly enough to address its multiple crises.
“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,” 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."
A number of studios, including WarnerMedia, Netflix and Amazon Studios, also announced that they would not participate in any more HFPA events until the organization made substantial changes.
The 2022 Golden Globes will go ahead, but will not air on TV.
In October, the HFPA made an announcement that surprised many in Hollywood—its 2022 ceremony will go ahead without NBC. The 79th Golden Globes will take place on Sunday, January 9.
“This year’s event is going to be a private event and will not be livestreamed,” an HFPA spokesperson further told Deadline. “We will be providing real-time updates on winners on the Golden Globes website and our social media.”
So in short, you will not be able to watch the Golden Globes this year.
HFPA is now gearing up to relaunch the Globes.
The 2022 Golden Globe nominations will be announced at the Beverly Hilton on Monday, December 13th, 2021. In the run-up to the announcement, newly elected HFPA president Helen Hoehne gave an interview to Vanity Fair in which she emphasized the work that had been done.
“This is the new HFPA 2.0," she said, outlining changes which include the addition of a diversity officer and people of color on the board of directors, adding 21 new HFPA members including six Black journalists, and a five-year partnership with the NAACP. A major priority, she said, has been rethinking how HFPA members are chosen, and how the group is managed and overseen.
But many in Hollywood feel that forging ahead with the 2022 Globes is a mistake, and suggests that the reform process has been rushed. "I think the industry feels like, Okay, do the work, and let’s talk about it next season; you’re welcome to choose your winners this year, but we’re not going to participate,'" one studio source told VF.
“I can say with confidence that it’s not going to be the regular award show,” Hoehne said. “We realize that this is not the tone this year, so we are taking a humble approach for 2022—we’re just honoring the people we think showed most excellence in 2021.”
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