The group that selects Golden Globe winners has no Black members


Next week's Golden Globes ceremony kicks off the Hollywood awards season, but the group that nominates movies and TV shows and votes on the winners earned a little unwanted drama of its own on Sunday. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has only 87 members, and "while the HFPA's ranks include a number of people of color, there are no Black members," the Los Angeles Times reports, "a fact a representative says the group is aware of and is 'committed to addressing.'"
This year's Golden Globes nominations were widely panned for totally snubbing Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods and the TV show I Will Destroy You and locking other movies with Black-led casts from top prize contentions, notably Judas and the Black Messiah, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and The United States vs. Billie Holiday. "We do not control the individual votes of our members," an HFPA representative told the Times.
The lack of Black members casting their individual votes isn't the only issue facing the HFPA. Ongoing litigation started by Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa accuses the HFPA of being a self-dealing cartel that excludes qualified foreign journalists to protect access for its members while improperly subsiding their income. And her allegations have some merit, the Times reports, noting that the HFPA pays its board members at least $63,000 a year and divided nearly $2 million among other members last year for serving on various committees, potentially in conflict with tax laws for nonprofits.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The HFPA, beset by occasional grift and bribery scandals almost since its formation in 1943, says it has cleaned up its act. This year's nomination of the Netflix series Emily in Paris — popular among viewers but not critics — for best TV comedy or musical series, raised some eyebrows, though, the Times notes, adding:
In 2019, more than 30 HFPA members flew to France to visit the set of the new series Emily in Paris. While there, Paramount Network treated the group to a two-night stay at the five-star Peninsula Paris hotel, where rooms currently start at about $1,400 a night, and a news conference and lunch at the Musée des Arts Forains, a private museum filled with amusement rides dating to 1850 where the show was shooting. [Los Angeles Times]
Still, the Golden Globes are still a win-win for the HFPA and Hollywood, the Times reports, partly because of the small pool of judges. Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Social media: How ‘content’ replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine