<p>LOS ANGELES — A former president of the organization that hosts the Golden Globes has been dropped from the group’s board sending an email that called Black Lives Matter a “hate movement.”</p>
<p>The Hollywood Foreign Press Association board said in an email Tuesday that Phil Berk is no longer a member of the organization. The decision comes hours after NBC — which telecasts the Globes — condemned Berk’s actions and called for his “immediate expulsion.”</p>
<p>The show’s producer, dick clark productions, also demanded for Berk’s removal.</p>
<p>Berk, an eight-term association president, fell under heavy scrutiny after he sent an email Sunday criticizing Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors. The South African-born Berk shared an article that called Black Lives Matter a “racist hate movement” and described Cullors as a “self-proclaimed trained Marxist,” according to a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-04-20/nbc-dick-clark-productions-condemn-former-hfpa-presidents-actions-ask-for-his-ouster">report from the Los Angeles Times</a>.</p>
<p>The email was sent to HFPA members, staff and the group’s general counsel and chief operating officer.</p>
<p>Berk had been a member of the organization for more than 40 years.</p>
<p>In February, the HFPA was criticized for lacking diversity. At the time, the group had 87 members who are journalists, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-02-21/hfpa-golden-globes-2021-who-are-the-members">but none are Black, the Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>The organization <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-meher-tatna-sterling-k-brown-golden-globe-awards-hollywood-e0e5382d96944606db43dc2e41a829ee">has said that an “action plan” was under development</a> to admit Black members.</p>
