Brendan Fraser says he 'will not participate' in 2023 Golden Globes if invited
"The Whale" actor opens up about an alleged 2003 incident in a GQ interview.
The 2023 Golden Globes are just around the corner, but actor Brendan Fraser says he isn't participating if he gets an invite to the awards show.
In an interview with GQ for the magazine's Men of the Year issue, the cover star and lead of the upcoming film "The Whale" said he would not attend.
"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 I have with them," he added. "And my mother didn't raise a hypocrite. You can call me a lot of things, but not that."
Fraser appeared to be alluding to an alleged 2003 incident that came to light nearly five years ago. In a separate interview with GQ in 2018, Fraser claimed that former HFPA president Philip Berk had groped him at a luncheon that took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Fraser said he did not immediately speak out about the alleged incident, telling GQ at the time that he had remained silent out of fear for his career, "humiliation," and because he did not want it to become part of his narrative, however he said the memory of what happened had stuck with him.
"I felt like someone had thrown invisible paint on me," he said back in 2018.
Fraser said he received an apology in a letter from Berk following the alleged 2003 incident, after his representatives requested one, however Berk has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and wrote in his memoir that he had grabbed Fraser in jest.
In a statement to GQ in 2018, Berk confirmed he had written a letter to Fraser but added, "My apology admitted no wrongdoing, the usual 'If I've done anything that upset Mr. Fraser, it was not intended and I apologize.' "
Referring to the alleged incident, he added, "Mr. Fraser's version is a total fabrication."
Berk was expelled from the HFPA in April 2021 after reportedly forwarding an article to HFPA members that described Black Lives Matter as a "racist hate group," according to the Los Angeles Times. He has not commented publicly on his expulsion, however he later said in the email thread that he had shared the article "as a point of information" and regretted sending it.
In the years that followed his alleged incident with Berk, Fraser said that he "became depressed" and was "miserable."
Fraser claimed that the HFPA has yet to apologize to him and said he doesn't believe the organization will anytime soon.
"At the moment, no," he said. "Maybe time will tell if they're going to … I don't know what they're going to do. I don't know."
Fraser added that if they did attempt to reconcile with him, he would have to "take a look at it and make a determination at that time, if that became the situation."
"And it would have to be, I don't know, what's the word I'm looking for… sincere?" he continued. "I would want some gesture of making medicine out of poison somehow. I don't know what that is. But that would be my hope. But it's not about me."
For the time being, Fraser is focused on his upcoming film "The Whale," which is set to premiere Dec. 9 and is already receiving Oscar buzz. The film is directed by Darren Aronofsky and is based on Samuel D. Hunter's 2012 play of the same name.
A description of the film reads: "A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption."
At the film's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation for his performance. A video showed Fraser shedding tears in the moment.
"I'd never been in that microscope before," he said. "It's… it's powerful stuff."
Fraser added that the role of Charlie "is the most physical role" he's ever done.
"I have beat s--- up and fallen down, been lit on fire and thrown against walls, and that's fine. That was okay. I liked that. I had fun," he said. "But this was probably the most heroic character I've ever played."
"Good Morning America" has reached out to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for comment. Attempts to reach former HFPA president Philip Berk for comment were unsuccessful.
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