The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is in the middle of a controversy that won't go away until they make some major changes. Yesterday, Ellen Pompeo shared an open letter on her Instagram page, criticizing the organization that holds the Golden Globe Awards. A recent Los Angeles Times article revealed the association has zero Black members. Yep, you read that correctly. Out of 87 members, there isn't a single Black person helping choose which TV shows and movies receive nominations.
“I think we can all agree that the governing body of the Golden Globe Awards the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has a membership equity issue that is unacceptable,” Ellen began her the post. “This is a very solvable problem. This is Hollywood, we are master problem solvers. There is a solution here and I have faith we can find it. What we can not do…is leave this problem up to the black community and all our communities of color to fix. This is not their problem, it’s ours.”
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She continued, "I would kindly ask, all my white colleagues in this industry, an industry that we love and has granted us enormous privilege...to pull up, show up and get this issue resolved. Let’s show our black colleagues that we care and are willing to do the work to right the wrongs we have created. Now is not a time to be silent. We have a real action item here let’s get it done.”
Ava DuVernay shared the post on her Instagram Story with the caption, "Respect." DuVernay also tweeted about the lack of representation when the lack of Black members became widely known amid the backlash over snubbing some pieces of work made by BIPOC creators.
"Reveals?" she tweeted in response to a Hollywood Reporter article from February 21. "As in, people are acting like this isn't already widely know? for YEARS?"
Reveals? As in, people are acting like this isn’t already widely known? For YEARS? pic.twitter.com/FOSuRq4F7oFebruary 22, 2021
The article she replied to addressed the exposé from the L.A. Times. The increased press attention spurred Time's Up to share an image reminding people that there isn't a single Black person in the association. The organization captioned the image, "A cosmetic fix isn’t enough. #TIMESUPGlobes #TIMESUP."
Notable stars like Sterling K. Brown, Kerry Washington, Jurnee Smollett, Amy Schumer, America Ferrera, Busy Phillips, Dakota Johnson, Laura Dern, and many more reposted the image. Sterling wrote, "To be nominated for a Golden Globe is a tremendous honor. To win one is a dream come true. It can affect the trajectory of an individual’s career…it certainly has with mine."
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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has also addressed the controversy. “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," the statement read. "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.”
A little late, but it's a start.
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Paulina is the Weekend Editor at Cosmopolitan.com. When she isn’t covering celeb and pop culture news, she can be found listening to Taylor Swift, watching a teen drama (One Tree Hill is her favorite), or perfecting her skincare routine.
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