Brendan Fraser’s long-awaited comeback has been a triumphant one, with his first major leading role in years—in Darren Aronofsky’s A24 drama The Whale—earning him critical acclaim and several award nominations. The actor is hotly anticipated to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in the Motion Picture Drama category, but whatever the outcome, he will not be present at the ceremony.
Fraser is declining to take part in the Globes due to his history with the event’s organizing body, which is linked to the reason behind his lengthy absence from the public eye.
In 2003, Fraser accused Philip Berk, then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, of sexual assault, alleging that Berk groped him. The allegations were disputed, and Fraser’s willingness to publicly criticize the sexual misconduct is believed to be the main factor behind him being blacklisted in the years since.
“I knew they would close ranks,” he said. “I knew they would kick the can down the road. I knew they would get ahead of the story. I knew that I certainly had no future with that system as it was.”
“I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” he said. “No, I will not participate… It’s because of the history that I have with them. And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that.”
“I would want some gesture of making medicine out of poison somehow,” he continued. “I don’t know what that is. But that would be my hope. But it’s not about me.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
