Former Golden Globes Owners Sue Penske Media Alleging Fraud in Acquisition of Awards Show
The suit seeks at least $150 million and alleges PMC used a boycott and false promises to take control of the awards show.
- On Tuesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association filed a federal lawsuit accusing Penske Media Corporation and chairman Jay Penske of orchestrating an "illicit scheme" to fraudulently acquire the Golden Globe Awards in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
- Penske and billionaire associate Todd Boehly allegedly orchestrated a "clandestine" plot beginning in 2021, using trade publications they controlled to instigate a boycott that devalued the HFPA and rendered it vulnerable to acquisition.
- The lawsuit contends the acquisition created a "pay-to-play racket," with Penske allegedly requiring expensive For Your Consideration advertising purchases from his own trade publications as a prerequisite for awards consideration.
- Seeking at least $150 million in damages, the HFPA also requests a court order canceling the acquisition, alleging defendants unlawfully diverted over $4 million in charitable funds to commercial interests.
- A Golden Globes spokesperson denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit "absurd" and "irrational," and criticized the HFPA as "an organization so widely criticized for ethical failures, non-inclusivity, racism, and misconduct involving talent.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Associated Press News
Former Golden Globes owners sue Penske Media alleging fraud in acquisition of awards show
Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have sued Penske Media and others, claiming they engaged in fraud to acquire the Golden Globe Awards.
Golden Globes sale was a 'sham,' Hollywood Foreign Press alleges in $150-million suit against Penske, others
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. sues Jay Penske and Todd Boehly over the 2023 Golden Globes sale, alleging fraud, monopoly and misuse of charitable funds.
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Sues Penske Media Over Control of Golden Globes
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association sued Penske Media and the Golden Globe Foundation Tuesday, alleging they orchestrated an illegal scheme to take over the Golden Globe Awards, dismantle the 80-year-old organization that created them and dominate Hollywood trade publications and the entertainment awards market. According to the complaint, filed in Los Angeles federal court, Penske Media — parent of Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Rolling S…
HFPA Sues Penske Media Over Purchase Of Golden Globes
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association sued Penske Media Group on Tuesday, alleging that the company engaged in a scheme to fraudulently acquire the Golden Globe Awards and gain control over the awards market. The 113-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges monopolization, unlawful restraint of trade, unfair trade practices and fraudulent […]
Former Golden Globes owner files antitrust lawsuit against the current one
Over the last decade or so, the Penske Media Corporation has been on something of a buying spree. This has led to a present where PMC owns all four major entertainment industry trades (Billboard, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline)—not to mention the ownership of Rolling Stone, IndieWire, Gold Derby, Vibe, ARTnews, Artforum, Bookforum, and a 50% stake in the South By Southwest festival. But while its buy-up of major publishing brands …
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