the revamped organization<\/a>, the Golden Globes Assn. (later renamed the Golden Globes LLC) would operate under the Eldridge umbrella, with the group\u2019s members becoming paid employees.<\/p>\nThe new private entity would manage its Golden Globes assets while maintaining the charitable and philanthropic programs in a separate nonprofit entity.<\/p>\n
However, according to the suit, Penske and Boehly \u201csurreptitiously instigated a boycott of the HFPA and the 2022 Golden Globes\u201d using Penske\u2019s entertainment trade publications such as the Hollywood Reporter to devalue the organization and make it vulnerable to an acquisition.\u201d They then used the boycott as a \u201cpretext for Boehly to infiltrate the HFPA and acquire the Golden Globes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the acquisition, the complaint alleges that the Golden Globe Foundation (GGF), the successor to the HFPA\u2019s charitable arm that was supposed to be an independent nonprofit, instead, became \u201can extension of the for-profit entity Penske and Boehly formed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suit alleges that Penske, Boehly and the GGF, aided by Gregory Goeckner, the HFPA\u2019s former general counsel who became the new foundation\u2019s CEO, have \u201cunlawfully\u201d used the charitable foundation\u2019s assets, diverting them \u201cto serve Penske and Boehly\u2019s non-charitable commercial interests, in clear violation of charitable asset protection laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the purposes cited in the suit include an attempt \u201cto use more than $275,000 in charitable funds for the for-profit Globes LLC\u2019s Golden Globes viewing party.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goeckner is also accused of conspiring with Penske and Boehly to \u201cfraudulently induce\u201d the transfer of $4 million from the HFPA to the new foundation in an effort to force the organization to \u201ccripple the HFPA before their and others\u2019 malfeasance in connection with the APA could be brought to light.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the new entity, HFPA members could become GGF members only if they accepted employment with Boehly and Penske\u2019s for-profit company, according to the complaint \u2014 a stipulation that HFPA members claim they were made aware of only after they voted to approve the acquisition.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the filing claims that the new entity reneged on a number of promises, including that members would keep their lifetime voting rights as well as their lifetime tickets to the award show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d said the Penske spokesperson.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit contends that the acquisition became a mechanism for Penske and Boehly to successfully \u201cmaintain monopolies\u201d in three specific areas: Hollywood trade publications, secondary awards and For Your Consideration (FYC) advertising \u2014 the specialized promotion of entertainment and entertainers to members of awards voting bodies.<\/p>\n
Using this monopoly, Penske is accused of turning the Golden Globes into a \u201cpay-to-play racket.\u201d<\/p>\n
For instance, the suit alleges that in 2024 Penske Media sold \u201cVariety Golden Globes\u201d dinner series offering access to Golden Globes voters at $70,000 apiece, as cited in media reports.<\/p>\n
The company is further accused of charging \u201cpotential movie studios a $5,000-per-project \u2018administration fee\u2019 to have a project placed on the Golden Globes Screening Platform.\u201d Those studios that submitted at least 14 titles were \u201coffered better display treatment on the portal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penske Media also allegedly required FYC advertising purchases from the company\u2019s trade publication for awards consideration, according to the suit, which claims that Penske Media, through its trade publications, owns 80% of FYC advertising worth upward of $1 billion annually.<\/p>\n
Last May, the HFPA board voted to pause the wind-down and dissolution process \u201cto fulfill the organization\u2019s duty to investigate the malfeasance and conflicts of interest\u201d in connection with the sale, according to the lawsuit, which also states the California attorney general has so far \u201cdeclined to approve dissolution of the HFPA.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Golden Globes transaction closed more than three years ago and received all required approvals \u2014 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,\u201d said the Penske spokesperson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., the group that originally founded the Golden Globe Awards, filed an antitrust lawsuit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[24379,126740,236,3426,336183,88,92133,336181,15757,336182,336185,336184,37460,8385,23631,335939,55398],"class_list":["post-790709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-acquisition","tag-antitrust-lawsuit","tag-celebrities","tag-company","tag-defunct-organization","tag-entertainment","tag-golden-globe-awards","tag-golden-globes-sale","tag-group","tag-hfpa","tag-hollywood-trade","tag-horizontal-monopoly","tag-member","tag-other","tag-penske","tag-penske-media-corporation","tag-suit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}