Will Brendan Fraser Skip The Golden Globes? Actor Explains Decision Involving HFPA

Brendan Fraser will not attend the 2023 Golden Globe ceremony if he is nominated for his critically acclaimed performance in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale."

In an interview for the cover story of GQ, Fraser said he planned to skip it.

"I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association," Fraser told the publication. "No, I will not participate."

Fraser noted that his past with the HFPA fueled his decision. "It's because of the history that I have with them," he said. "And my mother didn't raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that."

Fraser's decision to skip the ceremony comes after he opened up about a 2003 incident involving Philip Berk, the former president of the HFPA.

In a 2018 profile with GQ, Fraser accused Berk of groping and assaulting him, Berk has since denied the accusations.

Even though the HFPA vowed to investigate the incident following Fraser's accusations, he claimed the organization approached him with a joint statement.

"Although it was concluded that Mr. Berk inappropriately touched Mr. Fraser, the evidence supports that it was intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance," the actor recalled of the press release.

However, Fraser refused to co-sign the statement, and Berk remained a part of the HFPA until April 2021, when he was ousted for emailing members an article suggesting Black Lives Matter was a "racist hate movement."

Despite feeling slighted by the HFPA for not taking disciplinary action against Berk over the sexual assault allegations, Fraser won't let the incident dim his hopes for the upcoming award season.

Aside from skipping the Golden Globes, Fraser intends to campaign for the film, for an Oscar and other accolades "The Whale" is eligible for.

"I owe it to myself. I owe it to the filmmakers. I know I owe it to those fans who paid to come and see me and stand in line in the sun and, you know, all of that. I owe it to my kids. This is my shot," Fraser said.

After the Los Angeles Times published a scathing article in 2021 about the HFPA's about its lack of diversity and financial conflicts, the organization lost its television broadcast with NBC for the 2022 ceremony.

Once the organization proposed several reforms, including expanding its membership and restrictions against accepting gifts, it secured its broadcast for the 2023 award show.

Fraser doesn't believe in any of the reforms announced by the HFPA. "At the moment, no. Maybe time will tell if they're going to...I don't know what they're going to do. I don't know," he said.

The Golden Globes will air live in January on NBC.