Jada Pinkett Smith slams Golden Globe voters for not watching Girls Trip

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith has criticised voters of this year's Golden Globes for failing to recognise Girls Trip, the black female-led comedy that became an unexpected smash hit this summer.

There had been hopes going into awards season that the film's breakout star, comedian Tiffany Haddish, could score a Best Supporting Actress nomination – with observers speculating (or at least hoping) that she could replicate the success of Melissa McCarthy in 2012, who capped her breakout year with a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Bridesmaids.

But Pinkett Smith took to Twitter to claim that Golden Globes voters, which total 93 individual members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, failed to show up to both private screenings of the film and press conferences in support of the movie.

"I'm not upset about Tiffany Haddish or Girls Trip not getting a nom," Pinkett Smith wrote. "I'm discouraged about the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press/Golden Globes wouldn't even watch the movie.

"Girls Trip was one of the most successful films this summer and 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 and how much more critical acclaim must a movie have to simply get a screening?"

Pinkett Smith, who previously criticised the Academy Awards for failing to recognise non-white talent in 2016, also criticised the snubs for both Get Out and The Big Sick, two of the most acclaimed and financially successful films of the year, both of which were led by non-white faces and were expected to make significant appearances in the Comedy/Musical categories of the awards.

The actress, who has appeared in films including Collateral, Set It Off and Magic Mike XXL and is married to actor Will Smith, wrote that she was not attempting to shame members of the HFPA but wanted to provoke a discussion about "an antiquated system". She added: "Moments like this occur so that we have an opportunity to discuss, recreate and regenerate old paradigms. It's all about growth."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Universal Pictures, the studio behind Girls Trip, did hold private screenings for HFPA members and sent out screeners to voters, but that they snubbed invitation to a New Orleans press conference celebrating the film.

While she was snubbed at the Golden Globes, Haddish has already won Best Supporting Actress at the New York Film Critic Circle Awards, and has received nominations from film critic circles in Washington, Seattle and Detroit.