HFPA Files Antitrust Lawsuit Claiming Penske Media Fraudulently Acquired Golden Globes

On July 28, 2026 the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) filed a 113-page antitrust complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The suit accuses Jay Penske, Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the Golden Globe Foundation and its chief executive Gregory Goeckner of orchestrating a “clandestine scheme” to fraudulently acquire the Golden Globe Awards, dismantle the HFPA and monopolize Hollywood’s awards, trade-publication and advertising markets. The HFPA seeks at least $150 million in damages, treble damages under the Sherman Act, rescission of the acquisition agreements and injunctive relief to halt the alleged anticompetitive conduct.

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The Golden Globes were created in 1944 by the HFPA, a nonprofit association of foreign journalists. A 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that none of the HFPA’s 87 members were Black, prompting a public-relations crisis, a boycott by major studios and publicists, and NBC’s decision to drop the 2022 broadcast. In response, the HFPA adopted reforms and agreed to sell the awards. In 2023, Dick Clark Productions—owned by PMC’s parent company Eldridge—acquired the Globes, and the HFPA dissolved, with the charitable arm reconstituted as the Golden Globe Foundation.

The Wrap

• Damages sought: at least $150 million, plus treble damages.

Showbiz411

• Acquisition year: 2023.

Hollywood Reporter

• Transaction age: more than three years at the time of filing.

Deadline Hollywood

• Monopoly claims: PMC is alleged to control half a dozen major awards shows, the majority of Hollywood trade publications (including *Variety*, *The Hollywood Reporter*, *Deadline*), the awards-prediction platform Gold Derby Media and the eligibility-data firm Luminate.

Showbiz411

PMC and the Golden Globes issued a joint statement rejecting the allegations.

Variety Magazine

The HFPA’s complaint characterizes the acquisition as a “sham process tainted by fraud,” alleging that Penske and billionaire investor Todd Boehly used a media-driven boycott to devalue the HFPA, then infiltrated the organization (Boehly served as interim CEO) to facilitate the purchase. The complaint further alleges that the Golden Globe Foundation was used to divert charitable funds to the for-profit Globes LLC and that voting rights were conditioned on employment with Penske’s trust.

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• “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 Penske spokesperson

LA Times

• Defendant list: While the complaint names Jay Penske, PMC, the Golden Globe Foundation and Gregory Goeckner, several sources note that Todd Boehly, a key figure in the acquisition, is not listed as a defendant despite being described in the complaint as a co-architect of the deal.

Deadline Hollywood

• Voting-rights promise: The lawsuit claims HFPA members were assured lifetime voting rights and tickets, yet the complaint states those rights were later limited to members who accepted employment with the Penske Trust. Sources differ on whether this promise was formally documented.

Variety Magazine

No additional future hearings or court dates have been disclosed.

Penske Sued by Hollywood Foreign Press Over Golden Globes Moves