Fonda and Baron Cohen hit out at lack of diversity on panel
JANE FONDA said Hollywood has been “afraid” to tackle its diversity problem as she delivered a powerful speech during the Golden Globes.
The ceremony was marred by controversy after it emerged the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the body which votes on the awards, did not have a single black member.
Fonda, 83, a veteran actress and activist, received the Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. She said: “There’s a story we’ve been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry.
“A story about which voices we respect and elevate — and which we tune out. A story about who is offered a seat at the table and who is kept out of the rooms where decisions are made.”
She added: “So let’s all of us, including all the groups that decide who gets hired and what gets made and who wins awards, let’s all of us make an effort to expand that tent.” Introducing the show, hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler also addressed the lack of diversity among the HFPA.
Fey said that while “we all know that awards shows are stupid”, even “with stupid things inclusivity is important”.
Helen Hoehne, vice president of the HFPA, said: “We recognise we have our own work to do. Just like in film and television, black representation is vital. We must have black journalists in our organisation.”
As well as making a reference to the “all-white Hollywood Foreign Press”, Sacha Baron Cohen added: “Wait, Donald Trump is contesting the result. He’s claiming that a lot of dead people voted, which is a very rude thing to say about the HFPA.”
And he praised the crew of Borat for putting themselves in danger while shooting undercover amid the pandemic. “They did that because we all believed so deeply in releasing this movie before the election to show the danger from lies, hate and conspiracies.”