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NBC is splitting from its broadcast partner, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and will not air the Golden Globe Awards next year, the network announced this morning, per Variety. The move comes after months of controversy surround the organization, which has been criticized for a lack of diversity — with zero Black members — and no serious steps toward reform.
“We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform,” NBC said in a statement today. “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.”
According to Variety sources, NBC executives wanted a timeline on the proposed changes within the HFPA, but never received a calendar from the organization or a timeline, even though HFPA laid out plans for reform last week. NBC then made the decision the cancel their 2022 broadcast of the Globes.
NBC’s Golden Globes announcement follows proclamations from Netflix, Amazon and WarnerMedia, who all said they are boycotting the HFPA and the Globes until real change was enacted within the organization. The network previously signed a $60 million broadcast license deal with the HFPA, but lawyers are now tasked with sorting out the relationship between NBC, Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Prods. and the HFPA.
The cancellation is the latest in a string of protests against the HFPA. Over the weekend, Scarlett Johansson slammed the organization for “sexist behavior,” urging her industry to “take a step back” until the HFPA enacts “necessary fundamental reform.” Mark Ruffalo also spoke out against the organization, issuing a statement that he “cannot feel proud or happy” about his Golden Globe award. And just this afternoon, Tom Cruise returned all three of his Golden Globes in protest.
While the HFPA has been under fire for months now, the controversy initially stemmed from a January Los Angeles Times story in which reporters uncovered accusations of self-dealing and a lack of diversity in the organization, which did not hire a diversity consultant amidst Black Lives Matter protests last summer, and did not join press conferences for series like Bridgerton, Girls Trip, and Queen and Slim, per IndieWire.
The HFPA has yet to issue a statement in response to NBC’s announcement.