Golden Globes Brace for Possible Protests and Disruptions Ahead of Sunday’s Telecast

Gary Baum
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As the Israel-Hamas crisis enters its third month, Hollywood, with its sizable Jewish population and increasing divides among liberals as well as progressives over justice issues, has emerged as a proxy informational battle-space in the conflict. There is a nervousness among industry insiders connected to the Golden Globes that activists may take advantage of the global reach of the kick-off major awards season event — the first to be televised since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre — for their own ends.

The Beverly Hills Police Department tells The Hollywood Reporter that it’s working in tandem with neighboring law enforcement agencies as well as the FBI to prepare for protests. “At this time, we are not aware of any threats to the events or its attendees; however, we are aware of world events,” says lieutenant Renato Moreno. “As a result, we have staffed extra police personnel.”

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The FBI, in conjunction with the LAPD, fire department and other local government agencies, prepares what it terms Special Event Threat Assessments ahead of the highest profile entertainment industry gatherings to assist private security planners and law enforcement personnel. These reports highlight potential concerns, such as targeting by extremist groups, as well as “possible indicators of pre-operational surveillance or attack planning,” according to an unclassified memo reviewed by THR. Among them are observed attempts to obtain sensitive information about facility security measures as well as those of immediate surroundings. Such evaluations don’t include non-violent civil disobedience tactics like protests without a permit since they are outside the scope of federal jurisdiction.

Pro-Palestinian protestors, often fronted by a coalition of anti-Zionist Jewish organizations including IfNotNow, have in recent months blocked major roadways throughout the L.A. area, seeking to draw attention to the growing death toll in Gaza with sit-ins. Police have dispersed such activity at the heavily touristed intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, outside LAX and along the 110 freeway in downtown L.A. On the afternoon of Globes Sunday, a solidarity march calling for ceasefire and an end to U.S. aid to Israel will be held in front of Israel’s consulate general in West L.A., about 3.5 miles west of the Beverly Hilton. (IfNotNow didn’t respond when asked if it planned any actions at the Globes.)

A concern among some attendees and their representatives is that protestors will attempt to confront people in their vehicles or deliberately prevent them from arriving at the show by obstructing the street and causing significant delays. This is a recent memory for the Globes attendees who also made the pilgrimage to the heavily protested President Biden fundraiser in December at the Holmby Hills house of designer Michael Smith, a favorite of industry moguls, and his husband the former U.S. ambassador to Spain James Costos, a former HBO executive.

The Globes’ default position has been that no personal security may accompany talent on the red carpet. Yet certain exceptions have been made as representatives have pushed back hard considering evolving security concerns.

In the lead-up to the Globes, Israeli hostage advocacy organization Bring Them Home has been quietly working with publicists and agents to supply industry attendees — mainly executives, agents and managers and stylists — with a wearable yellow ribbon in acknowledgement of the 136 individuals still in captivity. Such colored ribbons became emblems of awareness during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. The seasoned Hollywood branding entrepreneur Ashlee Margolis has been coordinating the process through her firm The A List. (A Globes spokesperson stressed that the organization has no involvement in the ribbon effort.)

There are no plans to organize Globes attendees in support of the Palestinian cause, says one individual involved in industry advocacy for the Muslim community, for fear of professional and social reprisal. “Many in the entertainment industry, regardless of their religious background and ethnicity, feel reluctant to openly discuss the Palestine-Israel conflict if they have pro-Palestinian sentiments. The potential for social media backlash, damage to personal and professional reputations and sabotaging of careers is scary and real,” the source says, adding that it has been refreshing to see figures like John Cusack, Angelina Jolie and Marcia Cross voice their support. “It would be a dream if one day a celebrity could walk onstage with a keffiyeh without being called an antisemite. Wanting to see an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine does not mean one is antisemitic. The existence of Israel and the existence of a free Palestine at the same time can be true.”

It remains to be seen whether any stars will risk blowback for making a forceful statement, or even a muted one, before such a sizable audience. Julianna Margulies apologized after stating Black and LGBTQ supporters of Palestine had been “brainwashed to hate Jews.” Melissa Barrera was dropped from Scream VII after posting a series of comments about Gaza in which she described it as a “concentration camp” and described the ongoing situation there as “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.” As the death toll mounts in Gaza and even the hostage issue has become polarized, it’s unclear if even powerful executives with no public profile will want to stick their necks out.

Still, a substantial cross-section of talent who’ve called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza will be taking the stage on Sunday evening. Nominees who’ve signed the letter include Bradley Cooper, Lily Gladstone, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Joaquin Phoenix, David Oyelowo, Wanda Sykes, Selena Gomez, Quinta Brunson, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Brian Cox — who also released a widely watched video of himself reading the work of Refaat Alareer, a Palestinian poet who was killed in a December bombing. In addition, the award presenters who’ve signed it are Ben Affleck, Dua Lipa, America Ferrera, Florence Pugh and Naomi Watts. This year’s nominee field also includes Amy Schumer and Sarah Silverman, who’ve both been outspoken in their support for Israel following the eruption of violence on Oct. 7.

Winners at major awards telecasts have a tradition of using their acceptance speeches not just for thank-yous but also to capitalize on their nationally televised moment in front of an audience of millions to spotlight their personal stands. These have included, in more recent years, domestic politics (such as Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro’s denunciations of Donald Trump’s presidency) and industry policies (Patricia Arquette, Frances McDormand and Natalie Portman’s highlighting of gender inequality). The longest such focus, though, is foreign affairs, including Sean Penn and Michael Moore’s critiques of the Iraq invasion during the 2003 Oscars telecast.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine itself has a history of generating telecast heat. In 1978, after the anti-Arab Jewish Defense League (later classified a hate group by the FBI) burned an effigy of Academy Awards nominee Vanessa Redgrave in front of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion because of her support for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, she leveraged her time at the microphone after winning best supporting actress for Julia to decry “the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world.” Later in the show, the presenter Paddy Chayefsky, who’d received a screenwriting Oscar for Network the prior year, remarked from the stage: “I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple ‘Thank you’ would’ve sufficed.”

This was already going to be a momentous year for the Globes, which will now air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. It ended its previous relationship with NBC following controversy and blowback over scandals involving the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that previously ran the awards. Issues included a lack of diversity among its membership ranks as well as allegations of financial self-dealing and ethical corruption. In June 2023, live event company Dick Clark Productions and the investment firm Eldridge Industries acquired the Globes from the HFPA, revamping the organization. (DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns THR.)

Despite its reputational troubles, the Globes’ audience remains valued. Just last year, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, a professional actor before ascending to power, leveraged the platform for a soaring speech with his allies amid his stalemating war with Russia: “There are still battles and tears ahead, but now I can definitely tell you who was the best in the previous year: It was you. The free people of the free world.”

The Beverly Hilton, which has long hosted the Globes, has itself sought to avoid protests this year ahead of its signature event. (Eldridge, THR’s co-owner, also has an ownership stake in the hotel.) Unite Here Local 11, the powerful hospitality union that’s been roiling the region’s hotel scene since this past summer, reached an early deal with the Beverly Hilton, just in time for nominations.

Additional reporting by Rebecca Sun.

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