True to form, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler called out the HFPA's lack of diversity during their opening monologue for the Golden Globes with a joke about ghosts and German sausages. The awards ceremony took place last night, with the fan favorites back in the hosting saddle after Ricky Gervais once again rocked the boat during last year's proceedings with a set that didn't exactly kill with his celebrity audience. Gervais good-naturedly tweeted a joke today about the collective sigh of relief breathed by guests and organizers alike in response to his absence.
Recent and ongoing criticisms of the film industry's general lack of diversity have pinpointed awards ceremonies' failure to recognize outstanding work made of filmmakers of color. Critics have observed imbalances in the voting bodies that determine the outcomes of these ceremonies, most of which are disproportionately white. In 2015, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite called out the racial makeup of the Academy and ignited a wider conversation about diversity in the industry. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is a nonprofit made up of 87 international entertainment journalists responsible for hosting and determining the winners of the Golden Globes. It recently came to light that there are no Black members.
In the opening monologue for tonight's virtual ceremony that can be viewed in full on NBC Entertainment's Twitter, Fey and Poehler called out the HFPA for its failure to improve representation among its ranks. In an appropriately dystopian twist, the comedy duo are hosting from two different locations due to the pandemic, but viewers at home should barely notice a difference (says Fey, while a disembodied arm reaches across the split-screen to greet Amy, thousands of miles away). Getting right to the point, Fey called out the elephant in the room, or in this case, the German sausage:
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is made up of around 90 international—no Black—journalists who attend movie junkets each year in search of a better life. We say around 90 because a couple of them might be ghosts, and its rumored that the German member is just a sausage that somebody drew a little face on.
The hosts go on to joke about Emily in Paris' ambiguous nominations, why we binge-watch TV but refuse to commit to movies, and the awards show scam orchestrated by "Big Red Carpet." Later in the monologue when listing off nominees, Fey and Poehler acknowledge the projects that were robbed of nominations this year, many of which have Black directors, actors, and/or stories. Judas and the Black Messiah, Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and One Night in Miami are among the movies that didn't receive Best Picture nods from the HFPA but have received praise from critics and fans:
Everybody is understandably upset with the HFPA and their choices. Look, a lot of flashy garbage got nominated, but that happens. That is their thing. But a number of Black actors and Black-led projects were overlooked.
Directly addressing the organization in question, Fey and Poehler concluded the monologue by hammering the message home:
Inclusivity is important, and there are no Black members of the Hollywood Foreign Press…you've gotta change that. So here's to changing it.
With the amount of dialogue surrounding the issue, it would be odd for the comedians not to say something about it, especially considering the recent exposé on the HFPA. Earlier in the ceremony, HFPA members addressed the controversy with brief statements before getting the show on the road. Actual German member Helen Hoehne acknowledged the issue, saying, "Black representation is vital. We must have Black journalists in our organization." Former president Meher Tatna emptily pledged that "we must ensure everyone gets a seat at our table." The HFPA's cursory acknowledgment of the recent scandal offered little in the way of apologies or solutions, so the hosts' call-out was necessary, to say the least.
Source: NBC Entertainment/Twitter