By Abb Jones
The Reelness

NBC has announced it will NOT air the 2022 Golden Globes due to the ongoing HFPA controversy, putting the future of the embattled award show in serious jeopardy.

“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… Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.” – NBC

Late last Friday, Netflix, which led the studios and content providers in this year’s ceremony with 42 nominations and 10 wins, announced it was boycotting the 86-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association after critics said the non-profit organization’s approved reforms the day before were not enough, calling them “window dressing platitudes.” Amazon quickly followed suit and a number of celebrities, among them five-time nominee Scarlett Johansson and Golden Globe winner Mark Ruffalo, spoke out against the HFPA. Johansson says her own experiences with the HFPA led her to refuse to participate in their conferences, which she described as bordering on sexual harassment.

On Thursday, the HFPA had approved plans to increase membership by 50% over the next year and a half, overhaul membership criteria and reevaluate journalistic practices, after coming under fire for its total absence of black members, ethical lapses and questionable financial practices that made headlines in a scathing, February 21 Los Angeles Times investigative report. A coalition of more than 100 publicity agencies say they will continue to withhold HFPA access to their celebrity clients.

The HFPA has long faced criticism for being an insiders club of second-rate hacks and wannabes that excludes legitimate journalists from mainstream publications and media outlets. Members of the tax exempt HFPA routinely are invited to junkets in exotic locales, put up in five-star hotels and lavished with gifts, dinners and star-studded parties as nominations season draws near.