Glitz, glamor, and celebrity air kisses are out. Sunday’s toned down 2022 Golden Globe Awards will take place with no red carpet, no audience, and network telecast. Those attending in person must be vaccinated against coronavirus with a booster, masked, and test negative for the same within 48 hours of the event.
The traditional red carpet will also stay firmly locked away in deference to the coronavirus epidemic and lack of celebrity attendance at the 79th edition of the awards.
In a statement on the Golden Globes website, the organisers explained the restrictions: “Proof of vaccination and booster shot, along with a negative PCR test within 48 hours, is required for entry.”
“All guests will be masked and socially distanced at all times while inside the ballroom.”
UPI reports as part of enhanced coronavirus safety protocols, the scandal-plagued Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) will not credential media to cover the event. The HFPA will announce the winners at a ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. PST at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Snoop Dogg attends the nominations announcement for the 79th Golden Globe Awards, December 13, 2021, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
Attendees will maintain social distance and wear masks throughout. The once-famed award show is set to showcase a bevy of social justice initiatives.
The ceremony will include a speech by NAACP Hollywood Bureau Senior Vice President Kyle Bowser about the NAACP’s “Reimagine Coalition” with the HFPA.
The HFPA hired Neil Phillips as its chief diversity officer in November. The HFPA has previously committed to increasing the diversity of its membership and added 21 new members in 2021.
According to a Variety report earlier Tuesday, the HFPA reached out to publicists to engage celebrity presenters but everyone declined to participate, thus making this a celebrity-free awards ceremony.
This year’s restrained ceremonies come after last year’s Golden Globes were a ratings fiasco, as Breitbart News reported.
Beverly Hills police officers monitor the blocked area around the Beverly Hilton Hotel where the Golden Globestook place, February 28, 2021 in Beverly Hills, California. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
NBC’s broadcast averaged a paltry 5.42 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the coveted advertising demographic of adults age 18 to 49, down more than 60 percent each from 14.76 million viewers and a 3.8 rating last year.
Celebrities including Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Ruffalo further alienated viewers by delivering political lectures during their acceptance speeches, despite Fey’s promise the show would avoid politics.