Golden Globes voting body president on lack of female director nominees: 'We don't vote by gender'

The president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is defending the Golden Globes' snubbing of female directors — again.

The nominations for the 2020 show, which is voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were announced Monday and notably did not include any women in the directing category. Awards prognosticators had expected a nomination for Greta Gerwig for Little Women, while other contenders included Marielle Heller for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Lulu Wang for The Farewell.

The lack of female directors immediately drew criticism and has prompted a response from Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Lorenzo Soria, who told Variety, "What happened is that we don't vote by gender. We vote by film and accomplishment.”

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In response to Soria's statement, Pajiba's Kristy Puchko tweeted, "Sir, not recognizing your bias, is not the same as not having one."

The Golden Globes' lack of female directing nominees is hardly new to this year. In fact, just five women have been nominated in the Best Director category in Golden Globes history. At the 2018 show, Natalie Portman while handing out the award pointed this out live on the air, saying, "Here are the all-male nominees." This year's Golden Globes, which may or may not feature a similar moment calling out the glaring omission, will air Jan. 5.