Why Brendan Fraser Is Boycotting the Golden Globes

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Brendan Fraser's long-awaited comeback has been a triumphant one, with his first major leading role in years—in Darren Aronofsky's A24 drama The Whale—earning him critical acclaim and several award nominations. The actor is hotly anticipated to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in the Motion Picture Drama category, but whatever the outcome, he will not be present at the ceremony.

Fraser is declining to take part in the Globes due to his history with the event's organizing body, which is linked to the reason behind his lengthy absence from the public eye.

In 2003, Fraser accused Philip Berk, then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, of sexual assault, alleging that Berk groped him. The allegations were disputed, and Fraser's willingness to publicly criticize the sexual misconduct is believed to be the main factor behind him being blacklisted in the years since.

It "made me retreat," Fraser told GQ in 2022, saying that it felt like "something had been taken away from me."

"I knew they would close ranks," he said. "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."

Berk has since been ousted from the HFPA after describing the Black Lives Matter as a "racist hate movement," and the organization has faced extensive public scrutiny surrounding the ethics of its practices, prompting promises to instil reform. But Fraser has stated that he has no intention of ever attending the Golden Globes again.

"I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association," he said. "No, I will not participate... It's because of the history that I have with them. And my mother didn't raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that."

"I would want some gesture of making medicine out of poison somehow," he continued. "I don’t know what that is. But that would be my hope. But it’s not about me."

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