Brendan Fraser won't attend Golden Globes after alleging sexual assault

Brendan Fraser, whose performance in The Whale has seen significant acclaim, has said he will not attend the Golden Globes in 2023 as he suffered an alleged sexual assault from the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).

In 2003, at a lunch in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Fraser met the then president of the HFPA, Philip Berk. Then, Fraser claimed that Berk assaulted him in the crowded room and the undue shame of the incident had severe impacts on his personal life and professional career. "I felt ill. I felt like a little kid... I thought I was going to cry," recalled Fraser in an interview with GQ in 2018. "I was blaming myself and I was miserable - because I was saying, ‘This is nothing; this guy reached around and he copped a feel.’"

Berk wrote a letter of apology to Fraser and the HFPA countered the accusations stating that Berk had "inappropriately touched" the actor yet it was meant to be a "joke and not a sexual advance." Nevertheless, Fraser thinks that he was shut out of Hollywood as a result of this incident and lost out on a number of opportunities even when he had combatted his depression.

Again, speaking to GQ, Fraser said that he would not be present at the Golden Globes even if he was nominated for his work on The Whale. The HFPA organises the Golden Globes, as well as covering the industry for media outlets outside of the United States. "I have more history with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association than I have respect for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association," he summarised succinctly. "And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that."

He will however be campaigning for an Academy Award acknowledgement for The Whale as a way of expressing his gratitude for the support those have lent him. "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.