NBC has announced they will not air the Golden Globes 2022 award ceremony.
The broadcaster issued a statement saying they will wait to see if the awards organisters, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), will enact reforms and have scrapped any plans to air next year’s ceremony to give them time to ‘change in the right way’.
The HFPA now has to decide how or if it will move forward next year without its broadcast partner – one that annually pays a $60 million licensing fee to air the ceremony. The statement from NBC reads as follows:
“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. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”
The HFPA has been under fire for months following an expose by the Los Angeles Times about the small, insular organization’s questionable financial practices and woeful record of diversity and representation (including zero Black members).
Last week, the group released a framework for reform that includes measures to increase the number of people of color in its ranks with the plan approved on Thursday. The plan also included new restrictions on gifts that the members could receive and payments for work on their committees.
NBC says they stand by statements they released last week expressing encouragement that the HFPA was taking the industry’s concerns seriously even as others like Netflix, Amazon, WarnerMedia and various talent were not happy.
However, execs were concerned the HFPA had not set a timeline for change and they wanted a comprehensive plan that included at least a doubling of the HFPA membership. When they did not see it, they decided there can not be a show in 2022.
In addition, actor Tom Cruise has delivered back to the HFPA the three Golden Globe trophies he has won over the years – for his performances in “Jerry Maguire,” “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Magnolia”. He marks the first actor to do so, but others may follow suit.
