Spike Lee Reacts to Golden Globes Having No Black Voters: ‘Diversify Membership’ or Be Irrelevant

Zack Sharf
·2 min read
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Spike Lee issued a statement to Variety reacting to the lack of Black voters in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organization of international journalists who decide the nominations and winners for the Golden Globes. The HFPA has been under fire this week after it was revealed not a single one of the 87 Hollywood correspondents that make up the group is Black. HFPA board chair Meher Tatna told Variety the organization has not had any Black members in at least 20 years. Lee, who was left out of the Best Director race at the 2021 Globes with “Da 5 Bloods,” channeled “Do the Right Thing” by urging the HFPA to “put some sistas and brothers up on that wall.”

“The Hollywood Foreign Press clearly has much werk to do,” Lee wrote in a statement to Variety. “However, it’s been a joy to watch our children Satchel and Jackson serve as the ambassadors to the Golden Globes. I hope the HFPA understands in order to stay relevant, they must diversify their membership. Put some sistas and brothers up on that wall. Y’all buggin’ out!”

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Lee joins a long list of celebrities in Hollywood who have spoken out against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for its lack of Black members. The #TimesUp organization posted an image of a cracked Golden Globe statue to social media on Friday with the following caption: “Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Not a single Black member out of 87. A cosmetic fix isn’t enough #TimesUpGlobes.” The post was shared by the likes of Kerry Washington, Sterling K. Brown, Amber Tamblyn, Ellen Pompeo, Jurnee Smollett, Amy Schumer, Sean Hayes, Simon Pegg, DeVon Franklin, America Ferrera, Mark Duplass, Busy Phillips, Dakota Johnson, Patton Oswalt, and Laura Dern.

“The complete exclusion of Black women and Black people in general from the entire membership of the HFPA which votes for The Golden Globes is unacceptable,” Tamblyn wrote on Instagram. “We call on one of our country’s biggest and brightest award show ceremonies to ensure the future of the Golden Globes’ leadership represents the content, culture, and creative work of women of ALL kinds, not just white women, and of Black voices in general, both as nominees and as members instrumental in the nominating process. A cosmetic fix just isn’t enough. The world is watching.”

This year’s Golden Globes nominations also came under fire for snubbing Black-led films in the Best Motion Picture Drama category and for shutting out Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You.”

Launch Gallery: 2021 Golden Globes Gallery: See the Looks and Virtual Arrivals for the Ceremony

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