Golden Globes Sale Was A 'sham,' Hollywood Foreign Press Alleges In $150-million Suit Against Penske, Others

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. (HFPA), nan group that primitively founded nan Golden Globe Awards, revenge an antitrust suit against media mogul Jay Penske, Penske Media Corporation, nan Golden Globe Foundation and others, complete nan acquisition of nan celebrated grant show.

The suit revenge successful nan United States District Court for nan Central District of California, connected Monday, claims nan 2023 acquisition of nan Golden Globes was a “sham process tainted by fraud” and is seeking damages of astatine slightest $150 million.

Penske and nan different named defendants, “orchestrated and participated successful a clandestine strategy to fraudulently get nan Golden Globe Awards, dismantle nan HFPA, and exert monopolistic power complete Hollywood trades and nan awards circuit thereby violating California’s antitrust and user protection statutes,” according to nan complaint.

A spokesperson for Penske Media and nan Golden Globes denied nan allegations successful a statement.

“Today’s suit continues nan absurdity and irrationality that nan manufacture has travel to expect from nan defunct statement formerly known arsenic nan HFPA.”

The suit accuses Jay Penske, whose institution owns galore of nan Hollywood waste and acquisition publications including Variety, of having “colluded” pinch Todd Boehly, nan billionaire president of backstage equity patient Eldridge Industries, nan genitor institution of longtime Golden Globes shaper Dick Clark Productions, to acquisition nan 80-year-old grant show done a “corrupt Asset Purchase Agreement (the ‘APA’).”

Penske and Boehly person important ownership stakes successful respective movie and tv accumulation companies specified arsenic A24 Films and MRC.

Boehly declined to remark for this story.

The suit argues that owning nan Golden Globes would “solidify a vertical and horizontal monopoly connected nan awards market.” At nan aforesaid clip it would alteration them “to power and exclude” members of nan home and overseas property and to “control nan intermezo news disseminated to nan wide public, while maintaining a monopoly complete streams of advertizing gross successful that market.”

In 2022, nan HFPA voted to judge a connection by Boehly, past its interim main executive, that would toggle shape nan nonprofit world journalists’ group into a for-profit venture.

At nan time, nan statement was engaged successful rehabilitating its image and getting backmost into Hollywood’s bully graces.

NBC had dropped nan broadcast of nan 2022 Globes, a contingent of powerful publicists boycotted nan statement and studios including Netflix and WarnerMedia trim ties pinch nan HFPA, pursuing nan 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation that raised questions astir nan group’s ethical and financial lapses and revealed that not 1 of nan then-87 members was Black.

Under Boehly, the revamped organization, nan Golden Globes Assn. (later renamed nan Golden Globes LLC) would run nether nan Eldridge umbrella, pinch nan group’s members becoming paid employees.

The caller backstage entity would negociate its Golden Globes assets while maintaining nan charitable and philanthropic programs successful a abstracted nonprofit entity.

However, according to nan suit, Penske and Boehly “surreptitiously instigated a boycott of nan HFPA and nan 2022 Golden Globes” utilizing Penske’s intermezo waste and acquisition publications specified arsenic The Hollywood Reporter to devalue nan statement and make it susceptible to an acquisition.” They past utilized nan boycott arsenic a “pretext for Boehly to infiltrate nan HFPA and get nan Golden Globes.”

Following nan acquisition, nan title alleges that nan Golden Globe Foundation (GGF), nan successor to nan HFPA’s charitable limb which was expected to beryllium an independent non-profit, instead, became “an hold of nan for-profit entity Penske and Boehly formed.”

The suit alleges that Penske, Boehly and nan GGF, aided by Gregory Goeckner, nan HFPA’s erstwhile wide counsel who became nan caller foundation’s CEO person “unlawfully” utilized nan charitable foundation’s assets, diverting them “to service Penske and Boehly’s non-charitable commercialized interests, successful clear usurpation of charitable plus protection laws.”

Among nan purposes cited successful nan suit see an effort “to usage much than $275,000 successful charitable costs for nan for-profit Globes LLC’s Golden Globes viewing party.”

Goeckner, is besides accused of colluding pinch Penske and Boehly to “fraudulently induce” nan transportation of $4 cardinal from nan HFPA to nan caller instauration successful an effort to unit nan statement to “cripple nan HFPA earlier their and others’ malfeasance successful relationship pinch nan APA could beryllium brought to light.”

Under nan caller entity, HFPA members could only go GGF members if they accepted employment pinch Boehly and Penske’s for-profit company, according to nan complaint. A stipulation that HFPA members declare that they were made alert of only aft they voted to o.k. nan acquisition.

Moreover, nan filing claims that nan caller entity reneged connected a number of promises, including that members would support their life voting authorities arsenic good arsenic their life tickets to nan grant show.

“The effort by erstwhile HFPA members to leverage nan Golden Globe Foundation, an independent nonprofit, simply to unafraid Golden Globes tickets is an unfortunate distraction that inappropriately diverts resources from morganatic charitable causes. We stay troubled that nan HFPA, an statement truthful wide criticized for ethical failures, non-inclusivity, racism, and misconduct involving talent, continues to find attorneys consenting to push specified illegitimate claims,” said nan Penske spokesperson.

The suit contends that nan acquisition became a system for Penske and Boehly to successfully “maintain monopolies” successful 3 circumstantial areas: Hollywood waste and acquisition publications, secondary awards and For Your Consideration (FYC) advertizing — nan specialized promotion of intermezo and entertainers to members of awards voting bodies.

Using this monopoly, Penske is accused of turning nan Golden Globes into a “pay-to-play racket.”

For lawsuit nan suit alleges that successful 2024 Penske Media sold “Variety Golden Globes” meal bid offering entree to Golden Globes voters astatine $70,000 a piece, arsenic cited successful media reports.

The institution is further accused of charging “potential movie studios a $5,000-per-project ‘administration fee’ to person a task placed connected nan Golden Globes Screening Platform.” Those studios that submitted astatine slightest 14 titles, were “offered amended show curen connected nan portal.”

Penske Media besides allegedly required FYC advertizing purchases from nan company’s waste and acquisition publication for awards consideration, according to nan suit, which claims that Penske Media, done its waste and acquisition publications, owns 80% of FYC advertizing worthy upwards of $1 cardinal annually.

Last May, nan HFPA committee voted to region nan wind-down and dissolution process “to fulfill nan organization’s work to analyse nan malfeasance and conflicts of interest” successful relationship pinch nan sale, according to nan lawsuit, which besides states nan California Attorney General has truthful acold “declined to o.k. dissolution of nan HFPA.”

“The Golden Globes transaction closed much than 3 years agone and received each required approvals—any assertion that it did not close, aliases remains taxable to reversal, is erstwhile again unequivocally false. This latest enactment of duplicity is simply a caller low, moreover for nan HFPA,” said nan Penske spokesperson.