The Golden Globes has announced a few important changes it’s implementing for shows to come, which include adding more diverse members and more ethical rules.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is the organization that instituted and co-produces the awards each year, and is responsible for designating each years' honorees and winners. The group of 87 members, all international journalists, came under fire this year after allegations it wasn't diverse.
That is all now set to change, with the organization addressing the controversy and announcing a slew of changes Thursday that were made by its membership. One big change includes diversifying the offers and members of the organization as a whole, in order to incorporate more persons of color, who were not previously represented in the HFPA.
"Today's overwhelming vote to reform the association reaffirms our commitment to change," HFPA President Ali Sar said in a statement.
It plans on creating and hiring a chief diversity officer and recruiting more Black journalists, NBC News stated. There’ll be 20 new members added in 2021, and an addition of 50% more members within 18 months.
The problems and solutions don’t just stop at adding more members. HFPA also decided to improve its ethical standings after being questioned about its close relationship with the movie studios who have nominees in the award show.
Some members were even flown to Paris to support the Netflix series, “Emily in Paris,” which ended up receiving two Globe nominations in 2021, which caused some questions, the LA Times reported, per BBC.
In order to show its fairness, the group plans on not accepting any gifts or promotional items from any film or TV studio broadcasting partners.
The Golden Globes are second in importance only to the Oscars in Hollywood's film award season, but their future status has been called into question by threats of a boycott over some of the HFPA's controversies Photo: AFP / VALERIE MACON
