For Immediate Release: May 11, 2021
Contact: media@colorofchange.org
NBCUniversal Takes Action in Response to Demands from Color Of Change to Withhold Support of Golden Globes
NATIONWIDE — In response to NBCUniversal’s statement announcing the network’s decision to not air the Golden Globes in 2022, following the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) ongoing failure to address systemic racism within and perpetuated by the association as well as ignoring the recommendations of key community leaders, Color Of Change released the following statement from President Rashad Robinson:
“We applaud NBCUniversal’s decision to withdraw their support of the 2022 Golden Globes Awards. In doing so, the network has demonstrated a willingness to listen to civil rights advocates and take a constructive role in pushing the industry forward to address the failure to prioritize race and diversity. This victory belongs to the brave artists, creatives, industry leaders, and organizations that risked retribution from a power structure with a history of punishing those who speak out. This is an important step, one of many more to come, toward confronting the systemic racism that is pervasive in Hollywood and so many other industries.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) recent vote to enact reforms proposed by its board — reforms that fall far too short — demonstrates the urgent need for radical change in order to meaningfully address the systemic racism and corruption that continues to plague the association and its Golden Globe Awards.
In choosing to vote for these woefully inadequate reforms, the HFPA is ignoring the recommendations of key community leaders at the center of racial equity. Color Of Change and TIME’S Up put forth clear demands to HFPA and NBCUniversal’s senior leadership outlining the ways in which HFPA’s proposed reforms lack the specifics and accountability mechanisms necessary to usher in a more racially equitable and inclusive Golden Globes.
The HFPA was quick to release a statement of solidarity with Black lives in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent flood of demands for racial justice — but we know now that was all for show. The association has since made clear that it is more committed to performative allyship than transformational reform.
At every juncture where the HFPA has been given the chance to turn course, they have muddied attempts at meaningful action. For instance, instead of creating new criteria and expanding membership to a minimum of 300 to ensure an inclusive process and more diversity, at the recommendation of advocacy groups, the HFPA instead opted to add just over 40 new members over a period of 18 months — guaranteeing the 86 legacy members would remain in the majority and thus would hold the power to continue with business as usual.
Media outlets and platforms that choose to partner with the HFPA before real and systemic changes are made will be putting their brands on the wrong side of justice. Spaces in Hollywood, such as the HFPA and the Golden Globes Awards, continue to be entrenched in behaviors and cultures that are insidious, toxic, hostile, and exclusionary for Black people, women, and other marginalized communities. These harms are not limited to award shows, but ultimately lead to a lack of opportunities for people of color in front of and behind the camera, in the writer’s room, and in positions to influence our culture. When racism and discrimination proliferate in Hollywood, the harm stretches far and wide across our society.
Color Of Change will continue to mobilize its millions of members to demand the HFPA adopt TIME’S UP recommendations to transform the Golden Globes.”
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About Color Of Change:
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.