*Ava DuVernay has addressed the controversy surrounding the lack of Black voters among the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 87-strong membership.
The failure to diversify the organization is clearly the reason why Black-led projects received shocking snubs for this year’s Golden Globes.
After a Los Angeles Times investigation exposed a lack of Black HFPA voters, DuVernay and several Black Hollywood A-listers responded on social media by noting that this has been “widely known” for years.
The HFPA confirmed to the outlet that there are no black members but noted it’s an issue they’re “committed to addressing.” The group provided no details about how they plan to go about it.
READ MORE: Nominations for 2021 Golden Globes Announced – Spike Lee Left Out
L.A. Times Reveals HFPA Has Zero Black Members, Raises New Questions About Ethics of Golden Globe Voters https://t.co/9aHSV3sY5h
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 22, 2021
When the Golden Globe nominations were released in early February, several acclaimed Black projects were overlooked, including Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” and Shaka King’s “Judas and the Black Messiah” and HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” was nominated for best TV drama but the cast received no acting nods.
The HFPA was also criticized for not nominating Michaela Coel’s critically acclaimed HBO series “I May Destroy You.” The project was reportedly dismissed in favor of “Emily in Paris,” which earned two top nominations after HFPA members were treated to a five-star trip to France to visit the set.
Here’s more from EW:
The L.A. Times also reports potentially troubling details about the Globes’ internal processes, reporting that the group often rejects well-credentialed foreign journalists from joining, as members often allegedly accept lavish perks from studios and networks, who also, in turn, have allegedly lobbied members for votes for specific projects over the years.
The piece cites an HFPA rep as saying, “We do not control the individual votes of our members,” but that the group seeks “to build cultural understanding through film and TV and recognize how the power of creative storytelling can educate people around the world to issues of race, representation, and orientation.”
The lily-white Golden Globes show is set to air Feb. 28.
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