The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against media executive Jay Penske, Penske Media Corporation, the Golden Globe Foundation and Golden Globe Foundation CEO Gregory Goeckner, alleging they orchestrated a years-long effort to acquire the Golden Globe Awards and consolidate power across Hollywood’s awards and entertainment media businesses.
The 113-page complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses the defendants of violating federal and state antitrust laws as part of what the HFPA characterizes as a scheme to dismantle the organization and consolidate control of Hollywood’s awards ecosystem. “The HFPA is seeking more than $150 million in damages, along with treble damages, injunctive relief and the unwinding of agreements that transferred ownership of the Golden Globes.
“This case arises from a clandestine scheme to fraudulently acquire the prestigious and valuable 80-year-old Golden Globe Awards, destroy their founder and former owner, the HFPA, and exert monopolistic control over the Hollywood trades, awards and advertising markets,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit argues the acquisition was part of a broader strategy to consolidate influence across Hollywood’s awards ecosystem. According to the complaint, Penske’s media holdings now span major entertainment trade publications, awards properties and For Your Consideration advertising, giving the company outsized influence over awards coverage and campaigning. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The complaint also revisits the industry’s break with the HFPA in 2021, when criticism over the organization’s ethics and diversity practices led NBC to forgo televising the 2022 Golden Globes. According to the lawsuit, Penske and billionaire investor Todd Boehly capitalized on that turmoil to position Eldridge Industries to acquire the awards, a claim the defendants have not addressed publicly.
The HFPA further alleges the sale process favored Eldridge over competing bidders and that members were pressured to approve the transaction on an accelerated timeline.
Penske Media sharply rejected the allegations via statement from a Golden Globes spokesperson: “Today’s lawsuit continues the absurdity and irrationality that the industry has come to expect from the defunct organization formerly known as the HFPA. The Golden Globes transaction closed more than three years ago and received all required approvals — any assertion that it did not close, or remains subject to reversal, is once again unequivocally false.”
“This latest act of duplicity is a new low, even for the HFPA. The attempt by former HFPA members to leverage the Golden Globe Foundation, an independent nonprofit, simply to secure Golden Globes tickets is an unfortunate distraction that inappropriately diverts resources from legitimate charitable causes,” they continued. “We remain troubled that the HFPA, an organization so widely criticized for ethical failures, non-inclusivity, racism and misconduct involving talent, continues to find attorneys willing to push such illegitimate claims.”
The Golden Globes were sold to Eldridge in 2022 before Dick Clark Productions — jointly owned by Penske Media and Eldridge — assumed control of the awards. The HFPA later dissolved, while the Golden Globe Foundation continued as its philanthropic successor.
Beyond seeking damages, the HFPA is asking the court to unwind the Golden Globes transaction, arguing the deal allowed Penske Media to cement its influence over Hollywood’s awards economy. Penske Media, however, maintains the acquisition was lawfully completed more than three years ago and “received all required approvals.”
Credit: Source link