After a history punctuated by dysfunction and scandal, the Golden Globes struck a TV deal with NBC in the 1990s that solidified their place as a major TV and awards event. Now, after another controversy drove the ceremony off the air in 2022, the Globes return to NBC Tuesday for an 80th anniversary dogged by questions as to how diluted and damaged the brand might be.
The latest troubles began almost two years ago, in February 2021, when the Los Angeles Times published a detailed story documenting the lack of Black members within the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which presents the awards, and potential ethical transgressions related to its then-roster of 87 international journalists.
The HFPA was thrown into crisis mode, with Hollywood figures distancing themselves from the ceremony. In response, a group of publicists called upon the HFPA to implement “profound and lasting change” for its “pervasive practice of discriminatory behavior, unprofessionalism, ethical impropriety and alleged financial corruption.”
In their letter, the publicists added that they could not advise their clients to take part in the Globes without the organization addressing those concerns.
NBC dropped the broadcast that May. Tom Cruise announced that he would return his three Globe trophies. By August, the HFPA laid out plans for a series of reforms that included expanding its roster of voting members and pledging to bring more people of color into the body.
Since then, skepticism has lingered about the HFPA’s progress, and whether studios, publicists and high-profile stars would return after a non-televised ceremony was rather quietly held last year.
In September, NBC announced that it would again broadcast the Globes, and various performers have already agreed to appear at the event, which will be hosted by comic Jerrod Carmichael and honor Eddie Murphy with a career-achievement award.
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