The letter reads: “We cannot advocate for our clients to participate in HFPA events or interviews as we await your explicit plans and timeline for transformational change.”
According to Variety, the letter, signed by high-profile PR outfits including DDA, Premier, 42West and Rogers & Cowan/PMK, was delivered to the HFPA on Monday, following continuing criticism of the crisis-plagued organisation.
The Golden Globes TV broadcast is the HFPA’s most high-profile and lucrative event, and an industry boycott would be devastating. The HFPA’s troubles were sparked by a report in the LA Times shortly before the most recent Golden Globe awards show, in which the HFPA was accused of a lack of diversity in its membership as well as “ethical lapses” in the way it conducted its business.
The organisation’s response, in which it said it would add “Black and other underrepresented professionals to [the] organisation” and improve “transparency” over its voting and membership processes, was deemed inadequate by high-profile film industry campaign group Time’s Up.