Connect with us

Published

on

It was once one of Hollywood’s biggest and booziest nights – with the A-list stars who flocked to the ceremony to pick up their gongs, mercilessly roasted for the viewing entertainment of the millions who tuned in to watch.

British comedian Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globes five times, pushing the boundaries of celebrity mockery so far, it was a miracle they turned up to be teased.

But this year, the ceremony organisers will be waiting with baited breath to see how many stars turn up – and for a very different reason.

Mayan Lopez, Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) President Helen Hoehne and Selenis Leyva pose during the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominations announcement in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Image:
Mayan Lopez (L) and Selenis Leyva (R) announced the nominations, pictured with HFPA President Helen Hoehne

Embroiled in scandal

Last year’s ceremony was quite literally a non-event – the celebrity-filled night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel was replaced by haphazard Twitter updates from the Golden Globes, after NBC refused to air the show.

The reason? The Globes organising body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), found itself embroiled in scandal over a lack of diversity, accusations of sexism, and ethical and financial lapses among members.

An expose by the Los Angeles Times revealed that none of the 87 Hollywood Foreign Press Association members was black and the group had not had a black member since at least 2002.

So, this year – which is also the Globes’ 80th anniversary – there will be many eyes on the show.

Making changes

Since the fallout, the HFPA has been attempting to rebuild the awards’ reputation from the top down, adding more than 100 new voters to its voting body, which it says “is now 52% female, 51.5% racially and ethnically diverse”. For the first time, journalists from other countries can also be part of the mix.

Twenty-one new members joined the HFPA last year, six of whom are black, and membership eligibility was expanded from Los Angeles to anywhere in the United States.

Read more:
Full list of nominations for Golden Globes 2023
Golden Globes: British stars rake in nominations

Are awkward awards reflective of broader change in Hollywood?

Additionally, new rules around “freebies” and press trips have been imposed. Plus, they’ve set up a complaints hotline and hired a diversity officer.

In perhaps the biggest change of all, the Globes has also had a change of owner, after being purchased by billionaire Todd Boehly, who is in the process of shifting the voting body from its founding non-profit status to a for-profit model, (pending approval by the California attorney general). He plans to preserve the HFPA’s charitable work with a separate non-profit entity.

Brendan Fraser in The Whale. Pic: TIFF
Image:
Brendan Fraser in The Whale. Pic: TIFF

Who will rock up?

So what can we expect? Some notable celebrities have said they will attend – including Michelle Williams and Judd Hirsch – with the night hosted by comedian Jerrod Carmichael.

Confirmed presenters include Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ana De Armas.

British stars up for awards include Dame Emma Thompson, Olivia Colman, Bill Nighy and Daniel Craig. And pop megastar Taylor Swift will also take on Rihanna and Lady Gaga after being nominated in the category for best original song. But we must wait and see who will be there on the night.

Eddie Murphy will receive the coveted Cecil B DeMille award for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, and five-time Golden Globe Award winner and 16-time nominee Ryan Murphy will receive the Carol Burnett Award, honouring excellence in television. One would expect them to come to pick up their gongs – but will they?

Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts

And who will definitely not…

Someone who will definitely not be attending is Brendan Fraser – nominated for his star performance in The Whale – following an alleged incident at the Globes ceremony in 2003.

And while Tom Cruise didn’t get a nod for his performance in Top Gun: Maverick, it’s unlikely he would have turned up if he had, having reportedly handed back the three Golden Globe awards he had won over the years in protest.

It remains to be seen if the publicists and studios – including Netflix and WarnerMedia – who boycotted the 2022 event in protest at the body’s diversity issues – will be satisfied with the improvements.

And, as opposed to the multi-year contracts of the past worth tens of millions of dollars, NBC is hedging its bets by airing this year’s show under a one-year deal. Much is hanging on this year’s show – and the HFPA is likely holding its breath. Watch this space.

The 2023 Golden Globes will be held on Tuesday 10 January and broadcast on NBC and streaming service Peacock.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Tom Holland and Zendaya’s engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor’s dad

Published

on

By

Tom Holland and Zendaya's engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor's dad

Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.

Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.

Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.

He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.

“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”

“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.

Zendaya arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes.
Pic: Invision/AP
Image:
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP

Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.

Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.

In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.

He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”

“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”

More entertainment news:
Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
RuPaul pays tribute to The Vivienne

Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.

Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

LA fires: Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson among stars to see homes destroyed in blaze

Published

on

By

LA fires: Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson among stars to see homes destroyed in blaze

Paris Hilton says her “heart has shattered into a million pieces,” after visiting the charred remains of her Malibu beach house which has been destroyed in wildfires sweeping LA.

Describing herself on Instagram as “in complete shock,” the hotel heiress said seeing her family memories “reduced to ashes” was “devastating”.

Meanwhile, Mel Gibson has said the loss of his family home and all his belongings in the fire was “emotional”. It burned down while he was recording the Joe Rogan Experience in Texas.

Follow live: Latest blaze investigated as possible arson

At least 10 people have been killed in the blazes, which have been burning for four days, forcing 179,000 to evacuate their homes. Tens of thousands of acres of land still burning.

The fires affected multiple celebrities, as the fires have ripped through exclusive suburbs in southern California, home to film stars and billionaires.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Celebrities’ homes have burned down in the LA fires

Hilton, 43, said she watched her home burn to the ground on TV – and shared a video on social media from inside her gutted home.

She said she was grateful to be safe along with her husband Carter Reum and their two children, Phoenix and London, but was devastated to have lost her family home.

She wrote on Instagram: “I’m standing here in what used to be our home, and the heartbreak is truly indescribable.

“When I first saw the news, I was in complete shock – I couldn’t process it. But now, standing here and seeing it with my own eyes, it feels like my heart has shattered into a million pieces.”

She has lived in the multi-million-pound property for three years.

Hilton added: “This house wasn’t just a place to live – it was where we dreamed, laughed, and created the most beautiful memories as a family.

“It was where [son] Phoenix’s little hands made art that I’ll cherish forever, where love and life filled every corner. To see it reduced to ashes… it’s devastating beyond words.

“What breaks my heart even more is knowing that this isn’t just my story. So many people have lost everything. It’s not just walls and roofs – it’s the memories that made those houses homes. It’s the photos, the keepsakes, the irreplaceable pieces of our lives.”

She described herself as “incredibly lucky,” adding: “My loved ones, my babies, and my pets are safe. That’s the most important thing”.

She thanked the firefighters, first responders and volunteers who she said were “all risking their lives” to help, adding “Even in the ashes, there is still beauty in this world”.

Water is dropped by helicopter on the burning Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills.
Pic: AP
Image:
Water dropped by helicopter on the burning Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills. Pic: AP

Fire crews battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Image:
The West Hills section of Los Angeles. Pic: AP

‘When I got home, it wasn’t there’

Braveheart star Mel Gibson, who was away when the fires began, told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports that the home he had lived in for over a decade had burned while he was appearing on an episode of the Joe Rogan podcast.

The 69-year-old actor said it was “emotional” to know all his belongings have been lost, but he was doing his best to stay positive.

He said he felt “relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders”.

Gibson, who lived in his Hollywood home with his partner Rosalind Ross and their seven-year-old son Lars, described finding out about the loss of his house.

“I was doing the Rogan podcast… And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighbourhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there.

“But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there. I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.”

Read more:
What caused the ferocious fires and when will they end? Everything we know about the LA wildfires
Furious LA woman challenges California governor over wildfires response

He said the family’s pet chickens had survived the blaze, and while many “personal things from over the years” had been lost, the important things were still there.

“These are only things. And the good news is that those in my family and those I love are all well, and we’re all happy and healthy and out of harm’s way, that’s all I can care about, really.”

LA fires as of Friday morning
Image:
LA fires as of Friday morning

The ancestral home of Big Lebowski actor Jeff Bridges is also understood to have been destroyed.

The four-bedroom home, which had been in the Bridges family for generations, had been inherited by Bridges and his two siblings in 2018 according to the Los Angeles Times.

Tina Knowles, the mother of singer Beyonce, has also lost a house she owned in Malibu to the fires.

Tina Knowles, from left, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Blue Ivy Carter arrive at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King" on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Image:
Tina Knowles with Jay-Z, Beyonce and Blue Ivy Carter in December. Pic: AP

She shared a short video of dolphins playing in the sea on Instagram, writing: “This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend from my tiny little bungalow on the water in Malibu! It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone!!”

She went on to thank the fire department and first responders and offered condolences to others affected by the fires.

Take That star Mark Owen and his family were evacuated from their home, with his wife Emma Ferguson describing them waking to “helicopters, thick black smoke and winds howling”.

She said while she was grateful her family was safe, it was “exhausting” to be “constantly looking online to see if your house is gone.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Steve Guttenberg: ‘I’ve seen such tragedy’

Actor Steve Guttenberg, best known for his role in the Police Academy film franchise, has called the fires “absolutely the worst” he’s ever seen, and has been doing what he can to help distressed residents.

Other stars to have lost their homes in the fires include Billy Crystal, Miles Teller, Diane Waren, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes, Milo Ventimiglia, Anna Faris, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.

On Friday, the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammy Awards, and charity MusiCares have pledged $1m (£813,000) to support music artists impacted by the fires.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged the same amount to fire relief efforts from her family foundation.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Alec Baldwin files lawsuit against prosecutors in fatal Rust shooting case

Published

on

By

Alec Baldwin files lawsuit against prosecutors in fatal Rust shooting case

Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit against prosecutors who pursued a criminal charge against him after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

The Hollywood actor, who was the lead actor and co-producer of the Western film, was pointing a gun at Ms Hutchins when it fired in October 2021.

The cinematographer was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded.

Baldwin, 66, was accused of involuntary manslaughter but his trial was upended in July when a judge threw the case out based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of ammunition evidence from the defence.

He has now filed a lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations against those involved in pursuing the charge.

The lawsuit alleges that prosecutors intentionally concealed evidence that would absolve Baldwin from blame and “sought at every turn to scapegoat” him to “maliciously bring about or advance” the actor’s trial and conviction.

It claims the defendants, which include special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, were “blinded by their desire to convict Baldwin for all the wrong reasons”.

In a statement, Ms Morrissey said: “In October 2023 the prosecution team became aware that Mr Baldwin intended to file a retaliatory civil lawsuit.

“We look forward to our day in court.”

Representatives for Ms Carmack-Altwies have been contacted for comment.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From July 2024: Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey accused of calling Baldwin a ‘c*********’

Baldwin’s lawsuit has been filed less than a month after Ms Morrissey withdrew an appeal over the court’s decision to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor.

After the lawsuit was filed, Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a joint statement: “Criminal prosecutions are supposed to be about the search for truth and justice, not to pursue personal or political gain or harass the innocent.

“Kari Morrissey and the other defendants violated that basic principle, over and over, and trampled on Alec Baldwin’s rights.

“We bring this action to hold the defendants accountable for their misconduct and to prevent them from doing this to anyone else.”

Read more:
What next for Alec Baldwin?
Rust premieres three years after fatal shooting
Prosecutors say Baldwin has ‘no control’ of his emotions

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From November 2024: Tributes paid to Halyna Hutchins at Rust premiere

Baldwin had always denied the charge of involuntary manslaughter, maintaining he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that others on the set in New Mexico were responsible for safety checks on the weapon.

If he had been convicted, he could have faced up to 18 months in prison.

According to the prosecution, the actor had behaved recklessly during a scene rehearsal on the set near Santa Fe, playing “make believe with a real gun” and violating “the cardinal rules of firearm safety”.

Baldwin’s defence team argued this was not true – saying he was “an actor, acting” and “committed no crime”.

Following repeated suggestions from defence lawyer Alex Spiro that evidence had been concealed, in an unusual move, Ms Morrissey called herself to the witness stand during the trial, despite the judge telling her she was not required to do so.

Mr Spiro told the court that she had referred to the actor as a “c*********” and an “arrogant p****” to witnesses. Ms Morrissey said she did not recall this.

Continue Reading

Trending