Golden Globes cancelled on NBC; Tom Cruise returns awards

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

UPDATE: The Golden Globes fallout is hitting hard this afternoon, with none other than Tom Cruise reportedly returning his Golden Globes for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia. More on this to come, but it seems highly unlikely the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will ever bounce back from this. I expect many past winners to follow suit.

More on this to come… 

NBC has announced that it will not be airing the 2022 Golden Globe Awards.

“We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right,” the company said in a statement. “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.”

NBC's refusal to air the 2022 Golden Globes comes not long after WarnerMedia announced it's joining Netflix and Amazon in boycotting the event, or any events related to the Hollywood Foreign Press, for that matter. The reason for each studio bowing out stems from a demand for the HFPA to make lasting changes to its organization.

Executives at WarnerMedia recently sent a letter to HFPA president Ali Sar, which they then shared online for all to read. While the letter brings many of the conglomerate's concerns to the table, WarnerMedia insists that the HFPA's plans for change do not "go far enough in addressing the breadth of our concerns, nor does your timeline capture the immediate need by which these issues should be addressed. WarnerMedia Studios and Networks will continue to refrain from direct engagement with the HFPA, including sanctioned press conferences and invitations to cover other industry events with talent, until these changes are implemented.”

The letter also points out that the 18-month timeline for change will result in “the same voting body impacting the next two nomination and voting cycles,” through 2023. WarnerMedia also calls attention to a lack of diversity in the HFPA's diversity, nomination, and awards process. They also say that they've found questions at past conferences and events to be sexist and homophobic. “For far too long, demands for perks, special favors and unprofessional requests have been made to our teams and to others across the industry,” WarnerMedia said. “We regret that as an industry, we have complained, but largely tolerated this behavior until now.”

Here is the WarnerMedia letter to Sar:

Dear Ali,

As an organization, WarnerMedia is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as moral and business imperatives, and we strive to be a force for good in our communities. As an industry, together with other production companies, studios, networks, guilds, unions, and talent agencies, we all have a responsibility to ensure that our workforce, content, and creative partners reflect the diversity of our society and the world around us. This also extends to the organizations with which we do business.

While we commend the HFPA membership’s approval of the plan to move towards radical reform, we don’t believe the plan goes far enough in addressing the breadth of our concerns, nor does your timeline capture the immediate need by which these issues should be addressed. WarnerMedia Studios and Networks will continue to refrain from direct engagement with the HFPA, including sanctioned press conferences and invitations to cover other industry events with talent, until these changes are implemented. This includes work with HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Warner Bros. Television, TNT, and TBS.

The work of ensuring equity and inclusion is never finished and something we all must work together to achieve. We understand the challenges ahead for you, as we work towards diversifying our own executive and employee ranks. However, we call upon you to move with greater urgency. The currently planned 18-month timeline runs through the 2023 Golden Globes, which means the same voting body will be impacting the next two nomination and voting cycles. The HFPA has a membership of less than 90 journalists. Lasting and meaningful change to your membership goals could be achieved in under 18 months. The HFPA cannot accurately reflect the best of our industry until your membership expands to reflect more of the social, cultural and ethnic diversity that exists in the stories we tell and the creators with whom we work.

We’re also asking for a strong commitment to significant change in talent press conferences. We are keenly aware of how much harder we’ve had to lobby to secure press conferences for a number of Black performers and creators, representing unquestionably worthy content. This same work has often then gone unrecognized in your nomination and awards process. In addition, our teams have endured press conferences where our talent were asked racially insensitive, sexist and homophobic questions. For far too long, demands for perks, special favors and unprofessional requests have been made to our teams and to others across the industry. We regret that as an industry, we have complained, but largely tolerated this behavior until now.

Our talent and our staff deserve a professional environment while doing their jobs promoting our series and films. Therefore, we would also like to see the HFPA implement a specific and enforced code of conduct that includes zero tolerance for unwanted physical contact of all talent and staff. We recognize that this conduct is not representative of your full membership, but we need assurances that there will be timely, actionable next steps to discipline members who exhibit inappropriate behavior.

These matters deserve urgency, and the timeline you have proposed thus far does not inspire confidence that meaningful change will happen before two more seasons of voting are impacted. We welcome a discussion to address these issues with you and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Ann Sarnoff, Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks
Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO and HBO Max
Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group
Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group
Brett Weitz, General Manager, TBS, TNT and truTV
Johanna Fuentes, Head of Global Communications, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks
Christy Haubegger, Chief Inclusion Officer, WarnerMedia

More to come…