Scarlett Johansson has become the latest actor to criticise the Golden Globe Awards, saying that they need “fundamental reform”.
It comes after The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organisers of the Golden Globe Awards, faced questions over alleged corruption and a lack of diversity after they were the subject of an exposé by the LA Times earlier this year.
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The committee behind the awards pledged “transformational change” after it was revealed that there hadn’t been a Black member of the HFPA for decades, as well as alleged corrupt behaviour from the board.
As reported by the BBC, Johansson has become the latest actor to criticise the organisation, alleging that she faced “sexist questions and remarks by certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment”.
#ChangeIsGolden pic.twitter.com/cKCF6A7Pmm
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) May 8, 2021
Johansson added: “Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organisation, I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole.”
Her Avengers co-star Mark Ruffalo joined Johansson by saying that he didn’t feel “proud or happy” as a recent winner of a Golden Globe.
“Now is the time to step up and right the wrongs of the past,” Ruffalo said. “Honestly, as a recent winner of a Golden Globe, I cannot feel proud or happy about being a recipient of this award.”
Back in March, the HFPA listed “immediate action items” that they claimed would lead to change, including “hiring an independent expert in organisational diversity, equity and inclusion to advise and guide us”, putting a “specific focus” on adding Black and “other underrepresented professionals” to the group and “hiring a third-party, independent law firm to review the HFPA policies”.
The HFPA also said it would add a minimum of 13 Black members, increasing the total membership to at least 100.
“We also acknowledge that we should have done more, and sooner,” the group said in a statement. “As a demonstration of our commitment, the board has unanimously approved a plan to increase membership to a minimum of 100 members this year, with a requirement that at least 13 percent of the membership be Black journalists.”
Industry figures previously criticised the HFPA’s suggestion that its own board will be in charge of changes. “So, the board is gonna oversee its own reform?” Ava DuVernay tweeted. “Same board that oversees and benefits from the current practices and has knowingly perpetuated the HFPA’s corrupt dealings and racial inequity for decades? Got it.”
In a statement, Time’s Up president and CEO Tina Tchen also called for the board to go further. “On behalf of the many artists who look to us to hold the HFPA’s feet to the fire on the racism, disrespect, misogyny, and alleged corrupt financial dealings of the Golden Globes, we need to see specific details, timetables for change, and firm commitments. The right words are not enough. The clock is ticking.”
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