Golden Globes Scandal Timeline: HFPA Lack of Diversity Leads to Fall – Business Insider
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) — the group behind the Golden Globe Awards — is trying to make a comeback. Two years after selling the Golden Globes and its assets to Dick Clark Productions and investor Todd Boehly’s Eldridge, some of HFPA’s veteran members want to bring the original organization back.
Why Are They Doing This?
The HFPA members are frustrated. They feel the new owners broke promises made during the 2023 sale. These included:
- Travel allowances
- Guaranteed tickets to the awards show
- A choice between $250,000 one-time buyout or a $75,000 yearly salary for five years to stay on as voters
However, earlier this year, the Golden Globes canceled those $75,000 annual payments. Instead, members were offered a $102,500 severance. The Globes’ team said continuing to pay members might create a “perception of bias,” but many HFPA members saw this as unfair and possibly a breach of contract. Negotiations are ongoing.
Fallout and Legal Trouble
The issue has even caught the attention of the California Attorney General’s office, which oversees nonprofit organizations. The sale of HFPA included a plan to transfer $44 million out of $48 million to a new Golden Globes Foundation. But because of member complaints, the Attorney General has delayed final approval of HFPA’s shutdown.
Now, some members are using that delay as a chance to vote and re-establish the HFPA as an active group — a move that has already led to internal resignations.
Leadership Shake-Up
- Helen Hoehne, once HFPA president and now president of the for-profit Golden Globes LLC, was voted out in a recent members’ meeting.
- Two board members, Dr. Joanna Massey and Jeff Harris, resigned following this vote.
In her resignation letter, Massey called the move to undo the sale a “clear breach of fiduciary duty” and said the board’s recent actions were legally flawed. She emphasized that the sale was fully transparent and legally binding — meant to help preserve the awards and protect the organization’s charitable mission.
What’s Next?
It’s unclear what the reformed HFPA hopes to achieve. But this internal clash is adding another layer of drama to an organization already under fire in recent years for lack of diversity, ethics issues, and strained relationships with Hollywood.
Meanwhile, Dick Clark Productions, Eldridge, and the Golden Globes have all declined to comment, and the future of the Golden Globes — and the HFPA — remains uncertain.
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