HFPA promises 13 percent Black membership by next Golden Globes following outcry
Following the recent outcry over its lack of diversity, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has pledged to do better.
The HFPA, which puts on the Golden Globes, announced that it has unanimously agreed to increase its membership to at least 100 member this year, with a requirement that "at least 13 percent of the membership be Black journalists," EW has learned.
The HFPA's current membership stands at 87 L.A.-based journalists writing for overseas outlets. None of them are Black.
"We should have done more, and sooner," the HFPA wrote in a statement.
The announcement comes just hours after more than 100 Hollywood public relations agencies sent the association a signed letter advising them that they would be instructing their clients not to work with the HFPA until changes were made.
In that letter, later posted on Twitter by ID PR, the firms demanded that the HFPA "swiftly manifest profound and lasting change to eradicate the longstanding exclusionary ethos and pervasive practice of discriminatory behavior, unprofessionalism, ethical impropriety and alleged financial corruption."
The letter further promised that until this "profound and lasting" change occurred, none of their clients would participate in HFPA events and interviews.
The HFPA has been under fire since The Los Angeles Times ran an exposé on Feb. 21 exposing the association's lack of diversity.
"We are committed to making necessary changes within our organization and in our industry as a whole," the HFPA statement read. "While we recognize this is a long-term process, we will continue to be transparent, provide updates, and have confidence in our ability to change and restore trust in our organization and the Golden Globes."
The HFPA statement also identified Dr. Shaun Harper as its new strategic diversity advisor and promised to provide 20 quarterly diversity, equity, and inclusion training sessions over the next five years.
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