TheWrap’s Steve Pond is reporting that 64 voters for the Golden Globe Awards “are threatening to withhold their final ballots after being told that they will not be given tickets to the Globes ceremony in January.”
The Golden Globes currently have 300 voters, so the boycott would affect a little more than 20% of the voters. Then again, it seems as though it’s a lot more than just those 64 voters who are angry about not being invited. That number could grow in the coming weeks.
Tim Gray, vice president of the reformed Globes, told voters in an email this weekend that they would be welcome to attend the Globes viewing party, but that they would not have tickets to the January 7 ceremony.
“Members new and old are upset,” a voter tells The Wrap. The voters claim to have been misled in believing they would attend the telecast per usual. When the Globes were run by the now-defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association, all members would be given tickets to the ceremony.
The Golden Globe nominations were announced last Monday. The nominations came less than 24 hours after a report revealed that the Globes were (still are) desperately looking for a host to emcee the ceremony. The likes of Chris Rock, Ali Wong, and Will Arnett have declined offers to host.
“It’s not worth it,” a top publicist told CNN. “There are a lot of politics. It’s not easy and it’s not fun anymore,” they added. “It’s a thankless job” another publicist chided.
Earlier this year, media conglomerate Penske bought the controversy-ridden Globes. In consequence, they shut down the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Penske owns The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Does this technically mean that the film trades now own the Globes?
One thing’s for certain, it doesn’t matter who is in charge of the Globes, this organization just always seems to be embroiled in some type of controversy — today’s voter boycott is only just the latest one.