Fans of Brendan Fraser are boycotting the 2023 Golden Globes after the actor revealed he would not be attending the ceremony, despite being nominated. The move came after Fraser accused former Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) president Philip Berk of groping him in 2003.
Fraser, who was nominated for his performance in The Whale, confirmed late last year that he would be skipping the awards ceremony on January 10 due to his past experience with the HFPA, the organization that hosts the Golden Globes.
In 2018, Fraser told GQ of an incident mentioned in his memoir — and also reported by the New York Times — in which Berk allegedly pinched his buttocks. The actor, however, said it was more than just a pinch.
“His left hand reaches around, grabs my ass cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around,” Fraser said.
This experience “made me retreat,” Fraser told GQ. “It made me feel reclusive.”
After the incident, the actor reortedly “went from a highly visible public figure to practically disappearing in the public mind,” the outlet reported, and Fraser had wondered if the HFPA had blacklisted him.
“I don’t know if this curried disfavor with the group, with the HFPA. But the silence was deafening,” Fraser said, adding that he was rarely invited back to the Golden Globes after 2003. Berk denied the claims, insisting, “His career declined through no fault of ours.”
Nonetheless, fans have called for everyone who supports Fraser to boycott the Golden Globe Awards ceremony on Tuesday.
“If you care about Brendan Fraser, you’ll boycott the Golden Globes,” one fan proclaimed on Twitter.
“If you care about Brendan Fraser and the unnamed hundreds of others who were assaulted then you should boycott the golden globes,” another echoed. “Can’t claim to support him and then support the very organization that robbed his career from him in the first place.”
“Excited to not watch the golden globes tonight and support Brendan Fraser instead,” another tweeted.
“In honor and respect for Brendan Fraser, I won’t be watching the Golden Globes…” another wrote, adding, “but I DO hope that Sebastian wins tonight. He deserves it.”
“We will be watching the mummy starring Brendan Fraser instead of the #GoldenGlobes,” another fan revealed.
In November, Fraser told GQ, “No, I will not participate” in the Golden Globes, explaining, “I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.”
“It’s because of the history that I have with them. And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that,” he added.
This is not the first time the HFPA has been called out by members of the entertainment industry.
In 2021, actress Scarlett Johansson, who said she has faced “sexist questions” at press conferences, urged the entertainment industry to “take a step back” from the embattled organization.
That same year, two HFPA members resigned, saying the organization is “a toxic place,” with a culture one “insulation, silence, fear of retribution, self-dealing, corruption and verbal abuse.”
The HFPA has also been called out for its lack of black members, to which the organization responded by saying it would commit to having a 13 percent black membership.
As for the 2023 Golden Globes, it was hosted by black comedian Jerrod Carmichael, who is the show’s first ever black solo host.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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