Golden Globes: Two Congressional Black Caucus Members Ask IRS to Investigate 'Corruption' in HFPA

Congressional Black Caucus members Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) and Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) wrote the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Monday to demand an investigation into the “corruption” in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) — which presents the Golden Globe Awards — according to a letter obtained by The Wrap.

“We recently became aware of the longstanding and questionable business practices exercised by the leadership of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA),” the letter read.

The Congresswomen went on to call into question the HFPA’s tax exempt status:

For more than a year, entertainment and national media outlets have detailed the seemingly corrupt and unacceptable deal making patterns of HFPA raising questions whether the organization solely responsible for awarding the once coveted Golden Globe Award is meeting its IRS section 501(C)(3) demands.

“We believe at minimum, HFPA’s current leadership has colluded to benefit themselves, either directly or indirectly and therefore violated the IRS statute,” the letter continued.

According to its tax returns, the HFPA is a 501(c)(6), which is similar to a 501(c)(3) in that the organization is exempt from taxes, but is generally used for groups such as trade associations that promote the common business of its members, reports TheWrap.

The letter also pointed out the HFPA’s “failure to embrace robust diversity and inclusion practices that we are now seeing being implemented in Hollywood and across all business and government sectors.”

This is not the first time the HFPA has been publicly scrutinized.

In May of last year, actress Scarlett Johansson called out the HFPA, saying she has faced “sexist questions” at press conferences. The actress also urged the entertainment industry to “take a step back” from the HFPA.

Last year, the HFPA committed to having 13 percent black membership after it was criticized for not having a black journalist among its members, and after 100 PR firms sent a letter demanding the organization make changes.

By that summer, two members of the HFPA resigned, saying the organization is “a toxic place,” with a culture one “insulation, silence, fear of retribution, self-dealing, corruption and verbal abuse.”

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