When the 79th Golden Globe Awards take place on January 9, one major component will be missing from the show—celebrities.
The glitzy gala, which has traditionally served as the first major show to kick off Hollywood's awards season over the years, fell out of favor last year, after the Los Angeles Times published an exposé on the practices of the governing body.
The damning article probed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's (HFPA) business practices and poor record of diversity and representation among its membership of international journalists.
In the resulting backlash, a number of celebrities, broadcasters and studios distanced themselves from the Golden Globes, prompting the HFPA to announce in August plans to reform its membership over a span of 18 months.
However, the damage had been done, with NBC announcing that it wouldn't broadcast the 2022 ceremony and Tom Cruise returning three of the Golden Globe awards he had earned over the course of his hugely successful career. Amazon Studios and Netflix also said they would stop working with the HFPA.
With the date of this year's awards show looming, Variety reported that no celebrities have agreed to take part in the ceremony, which was traditionally held at Beverly Hills landmark the Beverly Hilton.
According to Variety, a letter was sent out by a Golden Globes talent booker to a number of publicity agencies, in a bid to secure their clients for the show.
The memo read: "The Golden Globes will move forward with a small event on January 9th that will not only award the best performances in television and film for 2021, but also on recognizing the importance of supporting diverse creatives across the industry.
"The event this year will celebrate and honor a variety of diverse, community-based programs that empower inclusive filmmakers and journalists to pursue their storytelling passions. The HFPA has financially supported important underserved organizations for decades and will continue to invest in the future leaders of our industry."
While no details were shared on where the awards ceremony will take place, it was stated in the message that the event "will have limited guests and with strict COVID protocols that include not only proof of full vaccination, but also a booster shot and a negative PCR test."
Newsweek has contacted a representative of the HFPA for comment.
Nominations for this year's Golden Globe Awards were announced in December by the organization's president, Helen Hoehne, and surprise guest Snoop Dogg.
With NBC having announced its decision not to broadcast this year's show, the lack of star power may be just one of the ceremony's problems, given the absence of an audience.
In contrast to the current controversy surrounding the awards show, last year's ceremony—which was held in February due to the pandemic—was hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and boasted a star-studded roster of guests and presenters.
Scarlett Johansson was among a host of stars who spoke out against the HFPA last year, saying in a statement, per The Guardian: "As an actor promoting a film, one is expected to participate in awards season by attending press conferences as well as awards shows.
"In the past, this has often meant facing sexist questions and remarks by certain HFPA members that bordered on sexual harassment. It is the exact reason why I, for many years, refused to participate in their conferences.
"The HFPA is an organization that was legitimized by the likes of Harvey Weinstein to amass momentum for Academy recognition, and the industry followed suit."
She added: "Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organization, I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole."
Filmmaker Ava Du Vernay tweeted at the time: "Warner Media, now the third studio to turn away from @goldenglobes, drops inside details about how it's harder to secure HFPA press conferences for Black artists and how artists are asked racially insensitive, sexist, homophobic questions. Strong statement."
