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Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have filed a federal lawsuit in California challenging the 2023 acquisition of the Golden Globe Awards, claiming Penske Media Corporation, owner Jay Penske, and holding company Eldridge Industries orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to seize control of the prestigious 80-year-old ceremony. The complaint alleges the defendants colluded to trigger a public boycott, artificially depressed the awards show’s value, and misled HFPA leadership into accepting a forced sale they would otherwise have rejected.
According to the lawsuit, Penske and Eldridge CEO Todd Boehly deliberately concealed Penske’s involvement from the HFPA board during negotiations in 2023. Penske Media controls major entertainment publications including Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, and Billboard, along with Dick Clark Productions, which operates multiple awards shows and now holds partial ownership of the Golden Globes. The suit contends this consolidation violates state and federal antitrust and unfair competition statutes.
The HFPA members assert they were promised lifetime voting privileges and Golden Globes attendance rights that Penske subsequently revoked through restrictive conditions. Plaintiffs also claim the defendants infiltrated HFPA leadership to facilitate the transaction and improperly manipulated California nonprofit law through the Golden Globe Foundation to reduce acquisition costs and establish a de facto for-profit subsidiary controlled by Penske and Boehly.
The suit references the 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation exposing the HFPA’s lack of racial diversity, which triggered widespread industry boycotts and NBC’s decision to drop 2022 broadcast coverage. The lawsuit alleges Penske and Boehly secretly orchestrated and amplified this public backlash using their publications as propaganda instruments to damage the Globes’ market standing before purchasing it.
A Golden Globes representative dismissed the claims as “absurd and irrational,” stating the HFPA’s motivation to secure tickets represents an illegitimate distraction from charitable purposes. The statement criticized the HFPA for ethical failures and misconduct while defending the current ownership structure. Todd Boehly and Eldridge Industries were not named as defendants; Boehly also owns stakes in Chelsea Football Club and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The plaintiffs are seeking a minimum of $150 million in damages and requesting the court nullify the agreement dissolving the HFPA. Following the 2023 reorganization, the Golden Globes secured a new broadcast agreement with CBS after NBC’s previous withdrawal.
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