We're weeks away from the 2023 Golden Globes nominees, but one of the Best Actor frontrunners has already revealed his intention to skip the ceremony.
Brendan Fraser, 53, made his Hollywood comeback in the recent psychological drama titled The Whale, in which he portrays an overweight English teacher who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
However, in an interview with GQ, published on November 16, the 53-year-old said that even if he receives a nomination at the award ceremony, he "will not participate" because he's not a "hypocrite".
"It’s because I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association," the actor said of the organization that hosts the Golden Globes. "And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that."
Fraser's reasoning, for those who haven't followed his long career, is that in 2018, the actor made headlines in a GQ profile in which he alleged that he was sexual assaulted by Philip Berk - a former president and member of the HFPA.
The Mummy actor claimed that Berk groped him in 2003 at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, telling the magazine that the traumatizing incident "made [him] retreat," with the actor feeling like "something had been taken away from me".
"His left hand reaches around, grabs my a** cheek, and one of his fingers touches me in the taint. And he starts moving it around," he told GQ in 2018. "I felt ill. I felt like a little kid. I felt like there was a ball in my throat. I thought I was going to cry."
After the article came out, HFPA issued a statement saying they "stand firmly against" sexual harassment. However, Fraser revealed in his latest interview with the publication, that after an investigation, they concluded that Berk inappropriately touched him but "the evidence supports that it was intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance".
The 89-year-old former president also denied the allegation and remained a voting member of the HFPA - not facing any disciplinary action from the organization. He was instead later fired from the organization after sharing an article describing Black Lives Matter as a "racist hate movement" in an email to his fellow members.
Still, even a few years after the article came out, the alleged incident remains difficult for Fraser to discuss. But he told the outlet that he hopes to be recognized for his professional efforts.
The George of the Jungle star also disclosed that he will only accept an apology from the organization responsible for his blacklisting from Hollywood only if it's "sincere".
While Fraser has no plans to attend the January award ceremony, he revealed that he's fully committed to campaigning for The Whale to win an Oscar award.
"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," he said.
The Whale is out in theaters next month.
