Skip to main content

The 2022 Golden Globe Nominees Are Out, and with Controversy

Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank and Jesse Plemons as George Burbank in The Power of the Dog.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil Burbank and Jesse Plemons as George Burbank in “The Power Of The Dog.” Kirst Griffin/Netflix

In an odd, ostentatious ceremony at the Beverly Hilton on December 16, the announcement for 2021 Golden Globe nominations came not from an actor, but from Snoop Dogg sporting a ‘Murder’ beanie. If anything, it was an interesting attempt to heal burned relations with Hollywood’s elite and television stations. (Last year’s scandal led NBC to drop televising the awards ceremony on January 9.)

Recommended Videos

Amid what’s supposed to be the coronation of awards season, celebrating the best in television and film, was continued controversy and criticism towards the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the notoriously insular, insider group who submits votes for the Golden Globe Award.

Earlier this year, the HFPA drew widespread criticism for excluding all Black-led potential Oscar best picture contenders, including Da 5 Bloods, Judas and the Black Messiah, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, as contenders for the Globe’s top film prize.

Adding to the drama, an L.A. Times investigation revealed that none of HFPA’s 87 members were Black. The same article suggested voters could be swayed by promotions and freebies from production companies.

The news outlet noted that Netflix flew HFPA members to Paris in support of the streaming service’s comedy series, Emily in Paris. Many observers were surprised when the show received two nominations after lukewarm reviews. Even more damning, the critically acclaimed I May Destroy You was left out of the nominations.

The revelations led Tom Cruise to hand back his three Golden Globes in protest and Scarlett Johansson to call for “fundamental reform.”

In response, the HFPA took several positive steps including recruiting 21 new and “predominantly diverse” critics to the organization, appointing a chief diversity officer, and requiring its members to undertake diversity, equality, and inclusion training. HFPA also instituted a new oversight committee and joined into a five-year partnership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Related Guides

Several Black-led series received 2021 nods, including Amazon Prime’s The Underground Railroad for best-limited series and Netflix’s Lupin and FX’s Pose for best drama. If anything, criticism seems to have pushed Globe voters towards paying attention to shows it should already have been behind. As a collection of international critics and journalists working for non-U.S. outlets, South Korea’s blockbuster Netflix hit Squid Games and France’s ultra-popular Lupin seem like easy choices.

Last January, no Black woman was among the Globes’ 20 slots for television nominations. Now, Uzo Aduba and Michaela Jae Rodriguez are the best actresses in drama nominees for their work on HBO’s In Treatment and FX’s Pose, respectively. For best actress in a comedy genre, Issa Rae from HBO’s Insecure and Tracee Ellis Ross from ABC’s Black-ish both earned nods.

The Golden Globe show is traditionally the first major ceremony of the awards season and is seen as a good precursor for what to expect at the Oscars. To that end, Sir Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical film Belfast and the Jane Campion-directed The Power of the Dog, a brutal Western starring Benedict Cumberbatch, led all Golden Globe nominations.

Aside from a few token picks like Lupin and FX’s Native American-led comedy Reservation Dogs, however, there wasn’t much evidence that HFPA voters were elevating new voices or shows into the awards season conversation. The most nominated TV shows — HBO’s Succession, Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and Ted Lasso, Hulu’s Dopesick, and The Great — are all easy choices that feature big stars and industry buzz.

Golden Globe winners will still be announced on January 9, but with the event already controversial and untelevised, most big-name nominees will likely steer clear.

For the Globes to ascend again, the HFPA has a long way to go to rebuild trust in its process. Given this year’s batch, the foreign critics are making an effort, but they’ve still got a long way to go.

Read More: Affable Benedict Cumberbatch Is an Awesome Cowboy Monster

Matthew Denis
Matt Denis is an on-the-go remote multimedia reporter, exploring arts, culture, and the existential in the Pacific Northwest…
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more
The best medical shows of all time to binge now
From ER to The Pitt, these are the best medical shows ever made
Noah Wyle in the Pitt

Throughout TV's long history, the medical drama has occupied a somewhat unique place in the landscape. Medical shows are often some of the most reliable on TV precisely because there's so much drama built in to working in a hospital.

Personally, I've found the medical drama to be deeply comforting for years, even if I have no desire to be a doctor myself. Understanding the stress of people in the healthcare profession is fascinating in and of itself.

Read more