Former Golden Globes owners sue Penske and Boehly over 2021 acquisition

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The deal

Fortune reports that former members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have filed a lawsuit seeking $150 million from Todd Boehly and Jay Penske, alleging the pair engineered a scandal around the Golden Globes in order to acquire the awards show at a depressed price. The complaint claims Boehly and Penske staged a boycott before swooping in to buy the organization. Neither Boehly nor Penske has commented publicly on the allegations, and the claims have not been independently confirmed.

Why it matters

Boehly, a billionaire investor who also owns Chelsea Football Club, and Penske, CEO of Penske Media Corporation, acquired the Golden Globes organization in 2021 following a controversy over the HFPA's membership practices and ethics. The former members are seeking to recover what they claim was the difference between the actual value and the price paid after the alleged manufactured crisis.

Deal context

The Golden Globes faced widespread criticism in 2021 over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's lack of Black members and ethical concerns about the organization's practices. Major studios and publicists boycotted the awards show, and NBC declined to broadcast the 2022 ceremony. Boehly and Penske subsequently acquired the organization and restructured it, with the Golden Globes returning to air in 2023.

What has to happen next

The lawsuit will test whether the former HFPA members can prove the boycott was orchestrated rather than an organic response to genuine ethical concerns. The defendants will likely argue the controversy was real and their acquisition rescued a damaged property rather than exploited a manufactured crisis.

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