HFPA Sues Penske Media for $150 Million Over Golden Globes Sale

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) filed a federal antitrust lawsuit on July 29, 2026, against Jay Penske, Penske Media Corporation (PMC), the Golden Globe Foundation, and CEO Gregory Goeckner. The HFPA seeks more than $150 million in damages and a court order to unwind the 2023 transaction that transferred ownership of the Golden Globe Awards.

The HFPA alleges the defendants orchestrated a clandestine scheme to devalue the organization by instigating an industry-wide boycott in 2021 using PMC-owned trades, such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. According to the complaint, this was a "sham" designed to force a sale and exert monopolistic control over Hollywood's advertising and awards markets. The lawsuit further claims that PMC colluded with Eldridge Industries and CEO Todd Boehly to hide Penske's involvement from the HFPA board and later reneged on promises regarding lifetime voting rights and tickets.

Additionally, the HFPA accuses Gregory Goeckner of improperly transferring $4 million in reserve funds to the Golden Globe Foundation. Penske Media Corporation rejected the allegations, describing the lawsuit as "absurdity and irrationality" from a defunct organization. PMC asserted that the transaction closed more than three years ago with all necessary approvals and criticized the HFPA's own history of ethical failures and racism.