“Emily In Paris” Gave Golden Globe Voters A Luxurious Trip To France…. And Then The Show Got Two Nominations

When the 2021 Golden Globe nominations were announced people were confused by a lot of the things going on. Sure there were some notable snubs like Michaela Cole’s I May Destroy You. But the real fuckery was things like The Prom getting a nomination and Emily In Paris getting two. Well turns out,  the Emily In Paris peopled treated Golden Globe voters to a fancy Parisian vacation a while ago, and I’m sure that has NOTHING to do with Emily In Paris‘ head-scratching nominations. Le not at all!

The 78th annual Golden Globes are happening this Sunday night and will be co-hosted by Tina Fey (who will host from NYC) and Amy Poehler (who will host from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills). The Hollywood Foreign Press Association better enjoy this one because they are getting shit on by a Los Angeles Times investigation into the near-bribery practices of the HFPA.

In their report, The LA Times found that around 30 members of the HFPA were invited to a Parisian escape last year courtesy of Paramount Network. Paramount developed Emily In Paris before getting on Netflix last year. Huffington Post says they were flown to Paris, France, and were put up in a five-star hotel, the Peninsula Paris, for two nights. Rooms start at $1,400 per night. Start. And that’s not all! Let us peasants gather ’round and listen to the tale of HFPA In Paris:

While in the city, the group also attended a news conference and lunch at the ultra-exclusive and private Musée des Arts Forains, where the series filmed an episode in the latter half of its first season.

One member of the HFPA told the LA Times that they “treated us like kings and queens,” despite the organization’s mandate that forbids members from accepting gifts valued at over $125 for each project.

I think $1,400 is a skosh over $125.

This wasn’t just about Emily though. There were plenty of snubs at the Golden Globes, including a bunch of Black-led films that industry people consider shoe-ins for Oscar noms. This suggests there are plenty of things getting nominations when they don’t deserve it. And seems they do. The LA Times investigation found this type of financial wooing was a consistent theme and Miss Emily’s not the only one:

The investigation into the group’s inner workings revealed a “widespread perception that members can still be wheedled and swayed with special attention” come awards season. Given the relatively small number of members behind the Globes― fewer than 90 HFPA voters compared to the almost 10,000 eligible voters in the film academy ― the report claimed that it’s “far easier logistically” to curry favor with the international journalists, as they “make a nice target.”

The investigation also found that certain members of the HFPA received nearly $2 million in payments for working on committees or performing other tasks which could be an IRS violation. Quit playing with the IRS! The LA Times’ investigation comes after a lawsuit against the HFPA from journalist Kjersti Flaa who accusing them of scamming:

While the HFPA has courted a fair share of controversy over the years, its membership is still reeling from Norweigan entertainment journalist Kjersti Flaa’s antitrust lawsuit that claimed the organization effectively functioned as a cartel. Last year, Flaa alleged that a “culture of corruption” and “ethical conflicts” ran rampant at the HFPA, with members receiving “thousands of dollars in emoluments” from studios and networks while adhering to a “code of silence.”

Her case was dismissed in November 2020 and the HFPA denied all wrongdoing at the time. They also gave a comment to the LA Times:

“None of these allegations has ever been proven in court or in any investigation, [and they] simply repeat old tropes about the HFPA and reflect unconscious bias against the HFPA’s diverse membership.”

I’m not sure who is shocked by this. I assumed everybody just “campaigned” or bought off awards 90% of the time. Although if Emily In Paris had to fly people to Paris for a luxury getaway to score a nomination, imagine the sort of shit Ryan Murphy pulled to get that hell-dimension known as The Prom on the list. What did he do? What did he get them? A gift basket full of the hallucinatory drugs he was surely on when he directed the movie? A stay at Nicole Kidman‘s coronavirus-free Australian wonderland? A hypnosis session to rid minds of James Corden’s performance in Cats? All of the above?

Pic: Netflix