In the week leading up to tonight’s Golden Globes ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was roundly criticized by dozens of A-listers who took the organization to task for its complete absence of Black members. The HFPA has been rightfully clobbered by stars and industry organizations all week, but they likely didn’t expect to receive harsh words from their latest critics: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the hosts of this year’s socially distanced ceremony, who didn’t mince words when they skewered the too-white HFPA.
In their opening monologue, Fey and Poehler weighed in on the week’s controversy. “The HFPA is made up of about 90 no Black journalists,” Poehler joked. “We say around 90 because a couple of them are just ghosts, and it’s rumored the German member is just a sausage.”
Here’s the reality: not a single one of the HFPA’s 87 members is Black. “There are no Black members of the HFPA,” Fey confirmed. “We know your workplace is the back booth of a French McDonald’s, but you gotta change that.”
Toward the end of their opening remarks, Poehler commented that “a number of Black actors and Black-led projects were overlooked.” Fey reminded viewers that awards are a frivolous institution manufactured by Hollywood, but acknowledged the importance of inclusivity, and called on the HFPA to change its ways.
“Even with stupid things, inclusivity is important, and there are no Black members of the Hollywood Foreign Press,” Fey said. “You’ve got to change that.”
Fey and Poehler join the likes of Kerry Washington, JJ Abrams, Jurnee Smollett, Jennifer Aniston, Damon Lindelof, Alyssa Milano, Simon Pegg, Rashida Jones, Ellen Barkin, and Shonda Rhimes, who criticized the HFPA by chiming in with the #TimesUpGlobes hashtag, which trended throughout the week.
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On Thursday, the HFPA vowed to change the composition of their membership, saying in a statement, “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.” At the ceremony, three members of the HFPA appeared on stage with a strained mea culpa, saying, “Just like in film and television, Black representation is vital. We must have Black journalists in our organization.”
If that feels like a step in the right direction, don’t get your hopes up. Fey and Poehler’s jabs were shortly followed by the first award of the night, Best Supporting Actor, which went to Daniel Kaluuya for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah. Zooming into the ceremony to accept the award for playing Fred Hampton, a Black Panther activist murdered by the FBI, Kaluuya couldn’t speak, as his mic seemed to be muted.
“You did me dirty!” Kaluuya cried once his mic was turned on. Indeed they did.
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