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Golden Globes controversy: HFPA vows to allow Black members as Hollywood A-listers join #TimesUpGlobes protest

Celebrities like Shonda Rhimes, Chris Hemsworth, Sterling K Brown, Judd Apatow, Ava DuVernay, Patton Oswalt and others slammed HFPA

If one looks closely at a Golden Globe trophy, the letters HFPA will be seen engraved on the award. It represents the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the non-profit organization which conducts the annual Golden Globe Awards. The team of HFPA comprises 87 members from across 55 countries of the world. But this year, a shocking truth came to light - the HFPA does not have a single Black member and has not had one for two decades, thanks to an investigative report by Los Angeles Times. 

The Golden Globes and HFPA was slammed by Hollywood celebrities for this blatant racial discrimination as they joined the #TimesUpGlobes campaign. Following the outrage, HFPA issued a statement acknowledging the matter and with the promise to welcome Black members to the committee. 

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Which celebrities joined the #TimesUpGlobes campaign?

Sterling K Brown and Kerry Washington were among the firsts to point out the lack of diversity in the HFPA. They were soon joined by other celebrities who condemned the organizers, especially after HFPA board chair Meher Tatna revealed to Variety that the organization has not had any Black member in the past two decades. 

Brown, a Golden Globe winner, later shared a poignant post on Instagram voicing his protest. 

#TimesUp launched a protest campaign against HFPA titled #TimesUpGlobes on February 26. The poster they released showed a cracked Golden Globe statuette with the message above: "Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Not a single Black member out of 87.” They captioned the post as - "A cosmetic fix isn't enough. #TIMESUPGlobes. #TIMESUP."

The post was soon liked by thousands and picked up by celebrities who shared it on their social media accounts in solidarity. Soon, Kerry, Jurnee Smollett, Amy Schumer, Sean Hayes, Simon Pegg, DeVon Franklin, Brown, Alyssa Milano, Chris Hemsworth and many others posted the photo on their social media feed and stories. 

Other celebrities like Shonda Rhimes, Judd Apatow, Ava DuVernay, Amber Tamblyn, Rashida Jones and others took to Twitter to share the poster. With thousands of their followers joining in, #TimesUpGlobes soon came up among the top trends on the social media platform. "So many crazy things about the @goldenglobes and the Hollywood Foreign press but this is awful. #timesupglobes"  Judd Apatow wrote. 

HFPA issues apology and action plan

Following the widespread criticism and backlash, HFPA released an official statement which said: "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." 

The Golden Globe Awards Twitter account initially shared the statement yesterday afternoon with the caption - "A statement from the HFPA'

Later, they retweeted it again two hours later with the caption - "We released this statement earlier, and are committed to change. We will also address this in our show on Sunday."

It is thus expected that the organizers will address the matter and bring forth remedial measures when the Golden Globe Awards 2021 airs. The official 2021 Golden Globe Awards will be telecasted on February 28 at 8 pm ET and the pre-show will be streamed live from the official @GoldenGlobes Twitter account and on the website goldenglobes.com at 6.30 pm ET.