Tom Cruise and Brendan Fraser snubbing Golden Globes amid racism scandal

After being rocked by controversy and scandal, the Golden Globes are trying to make a comeback. There’s just one very awkward issue.

Stars may be unlikely to attend the Golden Globes this year.

COMMENT

The Golden Globes are coming back for their 80th anniversary on Wednesday, hoping to shake off their tarnished image of corruption and racism.

The awards were all but brought down by a 2021 investigation by the Los Angeles Times that found the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), who conduct the awards, had no members who were black, along with accusations of self-dealing.

In 2022, US TV channel NBC refused to air it.

But this year it’s back on NBC with Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA, promising it will be “Hollywood’s Party of the Year”.

But as anyone who’s ever thrown a party fears: What if no one shows up?

Nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Brendan Fraser (The Whale) has said it would be hypocritical for him to participate in the event, having publicly accused former HFPA president Phil Berk of a sexual assault that sent the actor into a personal and professional tailspin. (Berk denied the allegations, claiming he was just joking.)

Don’t expect three-time Globe winning superstar Tom Cruise to show up either: When scandals tainted the organisation, he gave back his trophies. So, even though Top Gun: Maverick is nominated for Best Picture, Tom’s performance was summarily snubbed. Meow.

Brendan Fraser won’t be there. Picture: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Society

And it’s doubtful Tom Cruise will either. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

The group of members who determined who won the once-coveted awards consisted of 87 journalists … none of whom were black. So in the past 20 months, after hiring a “chief diversity officer” nearly two dozen new members, including African-Americans and Asian-Americans, were added.

They also banned members from receiving gifts, which as everyone in show business knows, were lavished upon them by film and TV studios, publicity agents and the stars themselves. I often heard jetsetting HFPA members at press junkets gushing about all the swag they received – a case of frozen steaks from George Clooney; an extravagant gift basket from Angelina Jolie; a party invitation from Nicole Kidman. There’s not much bragging these days.

When the nominations were announced on December 12, Hollywood was surprised by the lack of diversity among them. Everything Everywhere All At Once scored well for Asian-Americans, but it was otherwise a mixed bag, especially in the directing and writing categories.

For all the buzz, there was no sign of Till or Emancipation. Perhaps that’s why two days later, they made a big announcement that past Globe winner Eddie Murphy would receive the distinguished Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Danielle Deadwyler, star of Till. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for National Board of Review

Will Smith in a scene from Emancipation. Picture: Apple

Host Jerrod Carmichael will have his work cut out for him addressing all of this while still trying to lure audiences back to the telecast, formerly thought of as a good indicator for Oscar glory later in the season.

As January 10 approaches, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will be seizing every opportunity to publicise any celebrity who agrees to attend the ceremony, whether it’s as a presenter, nominee or entertainer.

It may be bumpy going to score some B-Listers, but that will be necessary if they want a media scrum to turn up outside the Beverly Hilton in California.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting the 2021 Golden Globes.

This year Jerrod Carmichael will have his work cut out as host. Picture: Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images/AFP

Actor Eddie Murphy will receive the distinguished Cecil B. DeMille Award. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa, whose lawsuit against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for self-dealing and antitrust violations triggered the investigation that exposed their misconduct, told me how rife she believes the hypocrisy continues to be.

“Now that the show is owned by billionaire Todd Boehly, who also owns the [entertainment industry] trade magazines who write cosy articles about Golden Globes’ comeback, it seems like the industry is playing along,” she said.

“HFPA has become the FIFA of Hollywood. Boehly also owns the venue of the show, MCR Entertainment which produces the show, as well as some of the big production and distribution companies in town.”

Flaa pointed out that one of those companies, A24, received the second highest amount of Globe nominations this year and said: “Every HFPA member gets paid $US75,000 [$A108,000] annual salary by Boehly just to vote … How can anyone be proud of winning this award when they know how rigged the system is?”

TV audiences for these extravaganzas have continued to decline over the years, as public taste waned for seeing self-congratulatory celebrities pontificate. Combined with the fact that the Golden Globes show has been banished from its prime Sunday night slot to midweek, it will be an uphill battle for them to convince us of their redemption.

However, as any moviegoer knows, Hollywood loves a comeback story.

Nelson Aspen is an award-winning journalist and author based in NYC

Originally published as Tom Cruise and Brendan Fraser snubbing Golden Globes amid racism scandal