It’s pretty generally agreed upon at this point that the big awards shows are insular, self congratulatory celebrations that are light on self awareness and heavy on displays of privilege. It’s also come to light over the years that many of the entertainment institutions who run their respective award ceremonies are problematic in their handling of inclusivity, and are even sometimes corrupt in how they allow people to court awards. That was especially the case for this year’s Golden Globes and its parent organization, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The HFPA continued to fail to cultivate a diverse membership, even after it was revealed that in 2020 their press pool had zero black members. Members were also criticized for accepting lodging paid for by Paramount in $1,400 per night five-star hotels as they visited the set for Emily In Paris. As a result, they were forced to cancel their typical boozy, fancy dinner-party-meets-awards-ceremony for 2021. The Golden Globes awards this year were demoted to a press conference from the Beverly Hills Hilton. But despite the drama, one fantastic thing came out of Sunday night’s reveal of this year’s winners: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez became the first openly transgender actor to win a Golden Globe.
