After accusing their former president of assaulting him, actor Brendan Fraser has announced that he would not attend next year’s Golden Globe Awards.
The actor, famed for his roles in The Mummy films, is predicted to win honors for his return performance in The Whale.
In 2018, he claimed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s head, Philip Berk, had fondled his derriere in 2003.
Previously, Fraser stated that the incident “made me retreat” and “felt reclusive.”
The HFPA said that Mr. Berk “inappropriately touched” Mr. Fraser, but that it “was meant as a joke and not as a sexual advance.”
Fraser said in a recent interview with GQ when asked if he would attend next year’s Golden Globes if invited, “I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, so I will not attend.”
“It is due to the past I share with them. My mum did not bring up a hypocrite. You may call me many names, but not that.”
Fraser earlier told a magazine that he felt Mr. Berk’s finger as he began “moving it” during an incident that occurred at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2003.
In 2018, the actor stated, “I felt sick. I felt like a child.” I had the sensation of a ball in my throat. I believed I was going to cry.”
I expected them to close ranks.
Subsequently, he demanded and received an apology, but Mr. Berk told GQ in 2018: “My apologies admitting no-fault; it was the standard, ‘If I’ve done anything to offend Mr. Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize’
After conducting an internal inquiry, the HFPA determined that the incident was intended as a joke. Mr. Berk informed GQ that he was not disciplined as a result.
Fraser stated in his most recent interview, “I anticipated they would close ranks and kick the can down the road. I anticipated that they would advance the plot. I realized I had no future under the system as it existed.”
The film The Whale, in which Fraser portrays a morbidly obese literature professor, has gained acclaim.
He is largely viewed as the favorite to win the Oscar for best actor at next year’s ceremony, a position that would typically be mirrored by the Golden Globes.
Wendy Ide, a critic for Screen International, described him as “courageous and fully committed” in his first major leading role in a feature film in roughly a decade.
Nicholas Barber stated, “It’s difficult to imagine anyone being as compelling in the character,” adding that the actor “richly deserves to be nominated for an Oscar for best actor.”
The Globes will return as a televised event in January after NBC canceled this year’s ceremony due to controversies including allegations of racism, sexism, and conflicts of interest.
After sharing an article describing Black Lives Matter as a “racist hate group” in 2021, Mr. Berk was expelled from the troubled organization.
