“We are committed to making necessary changes within our organization and in our industry as a whole.”
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has pledged to hire Black members after a large group of Hollywood publicists took a stand against the group.
On Monday, the HFPA, the organization behind the annual Golden Globe Awards, responded to a letter from more than 100 publicity firms who said they will withhold their talent from participating in the Globes until there is “transformational change.”
More than 100 Hollywood publicity firms just announced they will advise clients to no longer participate in the Golden Globes until the group fixes the “discriminatory behavior, unprofessionalism, ethical impropriety and alleged financial corruption endemic to the HFPA” pic.twitter.com/IghffvHFfT
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) March 16, 2021
@kylebuchanan
In a lengthy statement, the HPFA, which currently has 87 journalists, promised to add “at least” 13 Black members to the organization by next year’s ceremony.
“As a demonstration of our commitment, the board has unanimously approved a plan to increase membership to a minimum of 100 members this year, with a requirement that at least 13 percent of the membership be Black journalists,” the organization said in a statement, per THR.
“We are committed to making necessary changes within our organization and in our industry as a whole. We also acknowledge that we should have done more and sooner,” the message continued, later adding, “While we recognize this is a long-term process, we will continue to be transparent, provide updates and have confidence in our ability to change and restore trust in our organization and the Golden Globes.”
Read the full statement, here.
This comes after the HFPA received widespread backlash after a Los Angeles Times report last month revealed the group had zero Black journalists.
The organization later responded to the criticism in a statement to the Times, admitting it needs to “bring in Black members.”
“We are fully committed to ensuring our membership is reflective of the communities around the world who love film, TV and the artists inspiring and educating them,” the HPFA said.
“We understand that we need to bring in Black members, as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible,” the statement added.