There were plenty of snubs missed by yesterday’s announcement of the Golden Globe nominations. Long-considered locks like Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig for Best Director? Nope. Anything at all for The Big Sick? Nothing. But one particular snub had people in an understandable uproar: Tiffany Haddish not getting nominated for Girls Trip, near-universally considered the breakout performance of the entire year. One notable person in particular has some thoughts on the matter: Haddish’s Girls Trip co-star, Jada Pinkett Smith, which she shared on social media today.
I have so much to say on why @TiffanyHaddish was not nominated for a Globe… but I won't 🤐
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 11, 2017
Actually I will… here we go…
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
I'm not upset about @TiffanyHaddish or @GirlsTripMovie not getting a nom… I'm discouraged about the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press/@goldenglobes wouldn't even WATCH the movie.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
“I’m not upset about @TiffanyHaddish or @GirlsTripMovie not getting a nom… I’m discouraged about the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press/@goldenglobes wouldn’t even WATCH the movie.”
According to Pinkett Smith, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association couldn’t nominate the film because voters didn’t attend any press conferences or screenings of the film.
Girls Trip was one of the most successful films this summer & Tiff was hands down the funniest person on screen in 2017 and we couldn't get eyes on the film or a press conference. How could a nom happen & how much more critical acclaim must a movie have to simply get a screening?
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
That said, the Golden Globes is certainly willing to capitalize on Haddish’s success at the ceremony by offering her a spot as a presenter.
But yet… Tiff has been asked to present at their ceremony. This isn't about shaming, this is about the need for discussion of an antiquated system.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Much attention has been paid to the need for greater diversity in Hollywood over the last few years, thanks to social media campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite. While incremental progress has been made, Pinkett Smith’s tweets point out there is still a lot of work to do on the systemic issues of how movies are perceived based on the races of those involved in its making, as well as, as Vanity Fair’s Yohana Desta points out, Hollywood’s tendency of “ignoring black art that doesn’t center on suffering.”
Hollywood has systems in place that must learn to expand its concepts of race, gender equality and inclusion in regard to its perceptions of art across the board.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
The fact that the brilliance of @TheBigSickMovie went unnoticed and the fact that one of the most prolific films of the year, @GetOutMovie, is considered a comedy… illuminates the depths of the sunken place… for real.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
Moments like this occur so that we have an opportunity to discuss, recreate and regenerate old paradigms. It's all about growth. Love.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) December 12, 2017
For the sake of Haddish and Girls Trip, as well as The Big Sick and the much-acclaimed Mudbound, here’s hoping other awards are more inclusive.