'The Whale' nominee Brendan Fraser says he won't attend Golden Globes after 'history' with HFPA

Brendan Fraser was nominated Monday for a Golden Globe Award for his acclaimed role in "The Whale," but has said he won't attend the 2023 Golden Globes due to his "history" with the event's host, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

In 2018, amid the Me Too movement, the actor accused former HFPA president Philip Berk of a 2003 assault.

"I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association," Fraser said in a recent interview with GQ. "No, I will not participate." The 80th annual awards air Jan. 10 on NBC, after a one-year TV hiatus that followed other complaints about the sponsoring organization.

Fraser initially spoke out about the allegations in a 2018 interview with GQ, saying he was groped by Berk at a summer luncheon held by the HFPA. In the midst of a crowded room, Fraser said, Berk reached out to shake the actor's hand but instead grabbed his butt.

Berk immediately disputed Fraser's accusation. He was later ousted from the organization in 2021 as a board member after sending an email that called Black Lives Matter a "hate movement."

More: Brendan Fraser alleges ex-Golden Globes president assaulted him

The HFPA issued a statement at the time of the 2018 interview stating that the group "stands firmly against sexual harassment and the type of behavior described in this article." The organization later proposed a joint statement saying that the grope was "intended to be taken as a joke," according to Fraser, but he refused to sign.

"I knew they would kick the can down the road. I knew they would get ahead of the story. I knew that I certainly had no future with that system as it was," Fraser said in the recent GQ interview. "My mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that.”

More: Brendan Fraser says Golden Globes group dismissed his Me Too allegation as a 'joke'

Since Fraser's allegations, the HFPA, which is made up of U.S.-based journalists from overseas outlets, has been engulfed by controversy. In February 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA's secretive voting group did not include any Black members. The investigation also revealed more than 30 members were given a swanky trip to Paris paid for by the producers of Netflix's "Emily in Paris" prior to the show earning two Globe nominations, despite receiving mixed reviews.

After the shortcomings of the organization became public, HFPA unveiled a slew of reformative changes including new codes and bylaws and in October, it inducted 21 new voters that HFPA describes as its "most diverse class to date." Earlier this year, the HFPA said the 80th Golden Globes will be broadcast January 10 on NBC.

Fraser said only "time will tell" if the organization will stand on its changes but he is firm on not attending, though he will still campaign for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s "The Whale," which opened in theaters Dec. 9.

In the film, Fraser plays a reclusive English teacher living with obesity who attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter. He’s nominated for outstanding lead performance at the upcoming Gotham Awards and is widely considered a likely best actor nominee at the Academy Awards.

"I owe it to myself. I owe it to the filmmakers," he told GQ.  "I owe it to my kids. This is my shot.”

More: Brendan Fraser gets emotional when learning fans are 'rooting' for him in viral TikTok

Contributing: Andrea Mandell and Maria Puente, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nominee Brendan Fraser will skip Golden Globes following assault claim