Golden Globes 2023 SNUBS: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lawrence and Will Smith

, Will Smith, and were just some of the A-listers snubbed as the 80th annual Golden Globes nominations .

Cruise, 60, was shot down from recognition at the controversial award show – which takes place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles – despite his blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick earning a Best Picture – Drama nod. 

The action sequel was the highest grossing movie of the year and was beloved by critics to earn a nod in the top category but lead star Cruise was noticeably missing from the list of nominees. 

It is interesting to note, however, that last year Cruise had returned his three awards previously won to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in protest of the organization’s behavior.

As the awards show has been accused of having a lack of diversity, perhaps the HFPA wanted to steer clear of controversy as Smith,  54, did not receive a nomination for film Emancipation months after his infamous slap of at The Oscars. 

Meanwhile Lawrence, 32, was also ignored for indie film Causeway.

Keke Palmer also did not earn a recognition for her transcendent performance in Jordan Peele’s horror/sci-fi flick Nope. 

Julia Roberts and George Clooney also failed to be recognized for their romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise which earned an impressive $70million in the worldwide box office. 

Rising star Danielle Deadwyler did not receive a nomination in the Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama despite an incredible performance as Mamie Till-Mobley in critically-acclaimed film Till.

Stephanie Hsu was not recognized in the Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture category for her role as Joy Wang in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Female directors as a whole were also snubbed from the nominations as there was not a single woman who earned a nod for best director despite strong contenders including Sarah Polley for Women Talking, Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Woman King, and Chinonye Chukqwu for Till. 

The nominees were: James Cameron for surgafilm21 Avatar: The Way of Water, Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan for Everything Everywhere All At Once, Baz Luhrmann for Elvis, Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin, and Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans.

Only nine women have ever been nominated for best director with three winners in its 80-year history: Barbra Streisand for Yentl (1983), Chloe Zhao for Nomadland (2020), and Kane Campion for The Power Of The Dog (2021).

There were also major snubs in the television categories with the most notable being ‘anti-woke’ neo-Western drama Yellowstone which was ignored in the Best Drama Series category despite lead actor Kevin Costner earning a nod for Best Television Actor – Drama Series. 

Michael Shannon did not receive a nomination for his role as George Jones in Showtime miniseries George & Tammy despite co-star Jessica Chastain earning her eighth Golden Globes nomination. 

Meghann Fahy, a fan favorite, stole the show during the finale of The White Lotus on Sunday but was snubbed out of a Golden Globe nomination for her role of Daphne Sullivan.

Her White Lotus co-stars Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Coolidge and F.Murray Abraham were all nominated in the Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Limited Series categories, and the show itself is up for the Best Limited Series award.

Bill Hader’s critically-acclaimed HBO series Barry was not nominated for Best Musical/ Comedy series but Hader and co-star Henry Winkler did receive nominations for acting.

 The Globes have been known as a glitzy, booze-fueled ceremony that kicks off Hollywood’s awards season and helps propel nominees and winners in their quest for Oscars.

But the event was tainted after a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation probed the association’s practices and revealed the organization had no Black members.Tom Cruise returned his Golden Globe statues in protest, and longtime broadcaster NBC dropped the 2022 telecast.

The Comcast-owned network agreed to air the Globes again in 2023 after the organization made reforms. The ceremony will take place Jan. 10 and will also stream on Peacock.

Brendan Fraser – who was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for The Whale – has previously said he will not attend the awards whether he was recognized or not.

‘It’s because of the history that I have with them.And my mother didn’t raise a hypocrite,’ Fraser told GQ last month.

Fraser has alleged that a former HFPA president, Philip Berk, sexually assaulted him at an industry event in 2003. Berk denies the incident, and has since been expelled from the group for calling Black Lives Matter a ‘racist hate movement.’

In response to last year’s controversy, HFPA expanded its voting body to include people with more diverse backgrounds, banned members from accepting gifts, and halted its in-person press conferences with stars, which were often derided for the improper behavior of some members.

This is really not the old HFPA anymore,’ president Helen Hoehne recently told The Hollywood Reporter.

‘I respect Brendan Fraser’s decision…And I personally, sincerely hope there’s a way for us to move forward and we are able to regain Mr Fraser’s trust, along with the trust of the entire entertainment community,’ she added.

Still, powerful Hollywood publicists remain divided over the Globes, with some expressing skepticism about the reforms — and a reluctance to return to the event with their stars.

A plan by US billionaire Todd Boehly, the new owner of English football club Chelsea, to spin off the awards show into a for-profit entity and pay salaries to members has raised eyebrows.

The 80th annual Golden Globe Awards will air on NBC and streaming service Peacock on Tuesday, January 10 at 8pm EST/5pm PST.