Travel all expenses paid, sabotage of memberships ... The jury of the Golden Globes accused of nepotism

The highly exclusive group of journalists hosting the prestigious Golden Globes are accused in a complaint filed Monday of enjoying luxurious perks and unprecedented access to Hollywood stars, while seeking to sabotage new member memberships, thus causing a monopoly situation.

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"All year round , " members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) enjoy "all-expense-paid trips to film festivals all over the world, where the studios treat them lavishly and accommodate their least. desires ” , details the complaint brought by the Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa. “Qualified applicants to join the HFPA are almost always rejected because the majority of its 87 members do not want to share the enormous economic benefits they enjoy as members,” she adds.

Five stars in Singapore

This association enjoys considerable power because of the ceremony it organizes each year and which often has the value of taking the pulse before the Oscars. Its members alone decide who will walk away each year with the coveted Golden Globes. Its composition is however shrouded in mysteries. While some members work for well-respected foreign media, many are freelancers who write for obscure publications.

“Studios, of course, don't appreciate having to spend huge sums of money to meet the desires of a few dozen aging journalists who we regularly hear snoring at screenings, but given the importance of the Golden Globes, they do not see how to end this masquerade, “ accuses the complaint. She cites a press trip organized by Disney to a five-star hotel in Singapore last year.

Complainant Kjersti Flaa applied for membership in 2018 and last year, but it was twice rejected. She accuses Scandinavian journalists of having opposed her entry, although she meets the criteria presented by the association to be part of it.

Asked by AFP, the HFPA, which says it has sought in recent years to attract younger members, reacted by rejecting these accusations, reflections of "repeated attempts to shake" the organization according to it. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association "refused to be ransomed and told Ms. Flaa that membership was not obtained by intimidation," said the HFPA.