A package Tom Cruise just sent to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association may be worth its weight in gold.
The actor known for his work in films such as Risky Business and Top Gun sent all three of his Golden Globe awards to HFPA’s headquarters in protest of the organization’s lack of diversity, according to a Deadline report. Cruise won Golden Globes for his work in Jerry Maguire, Born on the Fourth of July, and Magnolia.
NBC PULLS PLUG ON GOLDEN GLOBES AND WILL NOT AIR THE SHOW IN 2022
Cruise’s decision to return his Golden Globes was reported the same day that NBC announced it would no longer host the awards ceremony, also due to concerns about diversity.
“We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform,” NBC said in a statement. “However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”
Several other major companies, including Amazon, Netflix, and WarnerMedia, plan to boycott the HFPA, which runs the Golden Globes.
Other celebrities have also criticized the HFPA, with star Scarlett Johansson saying she has faced “sexist questions and remarks by certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment.”
“The HFPA is an organization that was legitimized by the likes of Harvey Weinstein to amass momentum for Academy recognition, and the industry followed suit,” Johansson continued. “Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organization, 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.”
The organization attracted scrutiny after HFPA’s then-president, Philip Berk, shared an article via email that called Black Lives Matter a “racist hate movement.”
“Effective immediately, Phil Berk is no longer a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” HFPA said in an April 20 statement.
The 86-member HFPA voted last week to make changes designed to increase its diversity after a profile of the organization in the Los Angeles Times called attention to its lack of black members.
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Hollywood awards shows have attained record low viewership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early figures showed the 2021 Golden Globes, which aired in late February, attracted record-low viewership, and final data revealed a total of 6.9 million viewers watched the ceremony, as compared with the 18.3 million people who tuned in in 2020.
A representative for the HFPA did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
