The nominations for the 80th Golden Globe Awards are out! The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) conducts this prestigious awards ceremony kick-starting the awards season. In 2023, Mayan Lopez, Selenis Leyva and the President of HFPA Helen Hoehne presented the nominations. Many domestic and international films have made it to the coveted list. Films like Tom Cruise starrer ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Tár’, ‘Elvis’, ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ were some of the nominations this year.
Actors like Olivia Colman, Cate Blanchett, Brendan Faser, Adam Driver, and others will be competing for the coveted trophy. However, in the 80 years history of the awards, its image has been tainted. Golden Globes have come under a fire for a variety of controversies and scandals. Snubbing, racism, corruption, etc., are some of the allegations that the HFPA and the awards are associated with. Its broadcaster NBC also pulled the plug in 2021 due to a major controversy. Tom Cruise also boycotted the awards for the same reason.
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Tom Cruise Returned His Golden Globe Awards Due To Lack Of Diversity In HFPA
Tom Cruise is a real ‘maverick’ when it comes to the craft of being a superstar. Along with that, he has won many accolades for his performances in films like ‘Jerry Maguire’, ‘Born on the Fourth of July’, and ‘Magnolia’. The star has won his first nomination and award at the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, respectively for ‘Born on the Fourth of July’. He played a compatriot Ron Kovic who gets paralyzed which transforms his life and outlook towards it.
Later, he swept two Golden Globes for ‘Jerry Maguire’ and ‘Magnolia’ in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories, respectively. However, in 2021, he gave away all his three awards amidst a huge controversy surrounding HFPA. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was formed in 1943. The motive of forming an umbrella association is to create a mutual source of the dissemination of the news related to Hollywood. In 2022, they had 96 members and 103 domestic members.
However, after the 2021 ceremony, the people came to know that the awards had been highly exclusive for white-only members. It is difficult for other members from different countries to be a part of the HFPA. One of the criteria to become a member is that any two existing members should sponsor them. Along with this, it also lacked members from different ethnicities, especially the Black community. So, many actors and other entities including Tom Cruise boycotted the awards for its high bias and discrimination.
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NBC Also Refused To Televise The Awards Show In 2022
Along with Tom Cruise, NBC which has broadcasted the annual Awards show, refused to do so in 2022. In a statement, it said, “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. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes”.
The HFPA released a vague report citing the representation across their voting board. In 2022, it had 10.1% Black, 19.6% Latinx, 12.1% Asian, 52% Female, 51.8% racially and ethnically diverse individuals. Tom Cruise, after his boycott did not receive a nomination for the 2023 ceremony despite ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ receiving one.
