The Golden Globes announced its nominees for 2019 today (December 9) and it’s a sad looking list for creatives of color. No films featuring or produced by people of color were recognized for Best Motion Picture by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
While Netflix received 17 nods, the most of any distributor, one of its most anticipated and critically-acclaimed series, “When They See Us,” directed and written by Ava DuVernary, did not receive a single mention. And this was after the streaming company snagged the most Emmy nominations it ever had in September, with 16 for the series—and led the television category with six Critics Choice Association nominations, which was announced yesterday (December 8).
Instead, “Hulu’s ‘Catch-22,’ which featured an all-White cast, was the major surprise in the [best television miniseries or movie],” noted Variety.
Only three performers of color were named in the best performance categories (Drama: Cynthia Erivo for “Harriet;” Musical or comedy: Awkwafina for “The Farewell” and Eddie Murphy for “Dolemite Is My Name,” which was also nominated for Best Motion Picture for Musical or Comedy) and one for supporting (Jennifer Lopez for “Hustlers”).
For television series, Billy Porter (“Pose”) and Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”) both received Best Performance by an Actor in a drama nominations and Ramy Youssef (“Ramy”) was recognized for best musical or comedy. Not surprisingly, BBC America’s “Killing Eve” received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress, but it went to Jodie Comer, not to the other lead actress Sandra Oh.
In an article published today, NPR also noted the Golden Globes’ imbalance. “There are no women directors nominated this year, and no women screenwriters, either,” wrote Linda Holmes. “Artists of color are mostly left out as well. While Bong Joon-Ho’s ‘Parasite’ was recognized in the foreign film, directing and screenplay categories, all five motion picture dramas are stories of white protagonists, told largely by White storytellers…That makes omissions like the work of artists like DuVernay and King all the more jarring.”
To see the complete list of nominees before the 77th ceremony airs live on January 5, 2020, visit here.
Many took to social media to express their confusion and annoyance with the HFPA’s lack of diversity:
No Lupita? No Jharrel Jerome? No Zendaya? No When They See Us? Yeah y’all can keep this year’s #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Ka0OKMbFXN
rn— Reese (@madamreese) December 9, 2019
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the fact that regina king, zendaya, jharrel jerome, lupita and when they see us were all shut out of the golden globes … hmm i wonder what they have in common ???
rn— aki (@inejghafaswife) December 9, 2019
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Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but no #GoldenGlobes nominations at all for When They See Us? And out of 40 acting nominations in television announced this morning, just three went to non-white actors? Wow. Disappointing for 2019. pic.twitter.com/okJKrsuwGd
rn— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) December 9, 2019
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No Lupita? No Jharrel Jerome? No ZENDAYA?!!! No ‘When They See Us?’ No ‘Farewell’?
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rnThis might be the whitest I’ve seen the #goldenglobes in years.rn— Tiffany D. Jackson (@WriteinBK) December 9, 2019
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No Jharrel Jerome who won an Emmy, No Lupita who already is a Oscar frontrunner that is sweeping awards this season, No Zendaya who is in multiples lists of the best performances of the year, No Regina King who got universal acclaim in Watchmen. Judge for yourselves #GoldenGlobes https://t.co/FsIcECMvvr
rn— Alba? (@alrightdaya) December 9, 2019
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The #GoldenGlobes snubbed
rnAdam Sandler, Robert De Niro, Lupita Nyong’o, Shia LaBeouf, Greta Gerwig, and every other female directorhttps://t.co/7KhqcaCzjBrn— Variety (@Variety) December 9, 2019
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