HFPA releases new code of conduct to reform Golden Globes organisation

The board of Hollywood Foreign Press Association released a statement on Friday afternoon that outlined its most recent moves to reform the organisation, amid race controversy.

According to Variety, the statement read, "As we've said before, we are dedicated to transformational reform and are implementing changes as quickly as possible without sacrificing the integrity of the process. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, we intend to regularly update the industry and the public on our progress with our timeline, with more details to come in the coming weeks."

On May 20, HFPA members had approved a new Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct.

The statement further continued by adding, "We want to be clear that a fundamental pillar of our reform plan is accountability. The HFPA condemns any and all forms of harassment, discrimination and abuse. Such behavior is unacceptable and disciplinary action will be taken for violations of our new Code. All members - both new and old -- will be expected to follow this new code of conduct, and will be held accountable if they do not."

It even stated the organisation's commitment to the new policies, "We have been troubled by reports that certain members have engaged in unacceptable behavior in the past, and we are deeply committed to ensuring that it does not happen again and that interactions with the HFPA and its members embody mutual respect. Our new code of conduct, and the policies that will be released in coming weeks, are designed to achieve that fundamental and necessary objective."

The statement also reported that the HFPA signed a contract on May 19 with Convercent to establish a hotline that allows HFPA members and non-members to report misconduct within the organization. The calls would be anonymous.

The HFPA has been under fire since February after a Los Angeles news outlet reported that the group hasn't had a Black member in about 20 years. Since the report, the HFPA has promised to overhaul the makeup of the membership as well as its rules.

However, after a set of reforms were announced in early May, NBC had announced that it would not air the Golden Globes next year.

"We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes," NBC said in a statement on Monday.

A group of about 100 public relations firms also said earlier that they would continue to advise their clients not to work with the HFPA. Netflix cut ties with the organisation at about the same time.

"We don't believe these proposed new policies -- particularly around the size and speed of membership growth -- will tackle the HFPA's systemic diversity and inclusion challenges, or the lack of clear standards for how your members should operate. So we're stopping any activities with your organization until more meaningful changes are made," the streamers boss Ted Sarandos wrote in a May 6 letter to the HFPA, as per Variety.

( With inputs from ANI )

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