The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has initiated an antitrust lawsuit against Penske Media Corporation, the owner of Variety, concerning the 2023 acquisition of the Golden Globe Awards.
The lawsuit, filed in a Los Angeles federal court, accuses PMC of manipulating control of the awards through a process described as fraudulent. Additionally, it claims PMC encouraged a boycott against the Golden Globes to undermine and take over the event.
A PMC and Golden Globes spokesperson refuted the allegations in a statement.
“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 company stated.
The HFPA, a non-profit group of international journalists, managed the awards for almost 80 years until a diversity scandal arose from a February 2021 Los Angeles Times report. This report revealed the absence of Black members in the HFPA, leading to a boycott by publicists and NBC’s decision to cancel the 2022 broadcast.
Subsequently, the HFPA implemented reforms and agreed to sell the Golden Globes to PMC-owned Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge. The lawsuit claims HFPA members were misled when approving the deal.
The lawsuit further alleges assurances were given to HFPA members regarding lifetime voting rights and tickets to the show, which Penske supposedly rescinded, offering voting rights only to those employed by the Penske Trust.
“The result is a captured voting body that operates at Penske’s discretion rather than as an independent journalistic organization,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also contends that PMC, which owns various trade publications, exerts monopoly control over the trade, “secondary awards,” and “For Your Consideration” markets, excluding HFPA members from participating.
Although the HFPA was set to cease operations following the awards show’s sale, the board later voted to halt the dissolution to investigate alleged malfeasance and conflicts of interest related to the sale, as per the complaint.
The lawsuit seeks damages of at least $150 million.
“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,” PMC’s statement continued. “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. 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.”
