The HFPA is back

In news that really shouldn’t be surprising at this point, the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the beleaguered group behind the Golden Globes, have voted to reconstitute and seize control of…themselves. 

In 2021, the HFPA came under fire following a Los Angeles Times expose that revealed the group did not have any Black members. Back then, corporations and public entities pretended to care about diversity, equity, and inclusion, so this was considerably embarrassing for the organization—on top of years of shady practices and extremely questionable “journalism”—which ultimately led to the Golden Globes being taken off the air in 2022.

Then, in 2023, a new era was born when billionaire Todd Boehly, owner of Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes, bought out the Golden Globes, turning it into a for-profit organization (the HFPA was a non-profit). Part of the deal was that the HFPA would dissolve and cease to exist.

Except the deal never technically closed. Last year, it was revealed the California attorney general’s office was “reviewing” the deal, delaying its closure, which means the HFPA, in turn, never actually dissolved. It turned out that the Golden Globes were in a weird sort of limbo where Todd Boehly and his business partner, Jay Penske, were acting like they owned the Globes, but like, does anyone? I’m seriously asking, if the deal never closed but the HFPA isn’t in charge, at this point, who is ACTUALLY in control of the Golden Globes? 

The latest revelation is that just this week, the remaining 60-ish members of the HFPA voted to reconstitute their board and reinstate members, and to “reexamine” their deal with Todd Boehly and Jay Penske. Which again, never closed. 

This reporting, as with all other substantive HFPA-related reporting, comes from Richard Rushfield and The Ankler newsletter. Rushfield is practically the only journalist staying on this story, in no small part due to the fact that Penske Media owns three of the four major Hollywood trade publications, and they cover the reimagined Golden Globes in glowing terms, and the HFPA in less than flattering terms. None of the Penske-owned outlets have covered this latest development. The latest HFPA-related reporting from the trades is a story about an allegedly manipulated interview with Clint Eastwood written—assembled?—by longtime HFPA member Elisabeth Sereda. Variety is the only one of the trades to mention this story, which is unflattering to the HFPA. (To be fair, the HFPA has a history of sketchy celebrity interviews, it’s part of their overall shadiness.)

Do not mistake this for defense of the HFPA, they’re shady as f-ck, always have been and probably always will be (see also: the Clint Eastwood “interview”). I’m on the record saying we should have let the Golden Globes die after the 2022 telecast was cancelled, and I think it’s embarrassing for everyone we’re just pretending like it’s situation normal over there every January when awards season rolls around. But this whole situation is beyond baffling. Who’s in charge? Can the reconstituted HFPA actually overthrow the Boehly-Penske deal? If they do, what happens next? 

The Golden Globes are currently scheduled for January 11, 2026. Dick Clark Productions is still the producer of the telecast, are they in charge even if Boehly, who owns the company, loses control of the HFPA? What about the Beverly Hilton Hotel, which Boehly has a stake in, where the Globes are held? If Boehly loses control does he revoke their booking? How petty is this going to get?

And if the HFPA does come back as the controlling interest in the Golden Globes, will celebrities keep pretending like it’s business as usual? One reason they could bluster their way through the Golden Globes is because the HFPA, an embarrassing organization, was SUPPOSED to cease to exist, and the Globes would be run by different people, with a larger, more diverse voting body. But if the HFPA wrests control back, is that over? Does it go back to a small, secretive coterie of voters no one really knows controlling who gets the trophies? Does it matter if they do?

As for why this is happening, follow the money. As part of the terms of the wind-down, the old HFPA members were to receive a salary of $75,000 per year for five years from Penske Media Eldridge, the joint venture formed between Jay Penske’s Penske Media Corporation and Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries. However, earlier this year—and less than one year into that five-year agreement—PME “terminated the policy” of paying the members salaries, aka they were fired. Instead of the promised $375,000, they got a $102, 500 severance package and one more year to remain as Golden Globes voters. A spokesperson for the Golden Globes said this was done to avoid “a perception of bias in voting”, which is exactly what started this brouhaha back in 2021.

The HFPA had a sweet deal for a long time. They paid themselves extravagant salaries and were given lavish gifts up to and including five-star trips to visit sets as part of “for your consideration” campaigns by studios hopeful of earning nominations and wins during awards season. In 2021, it blew up in their faces because they were insular and weird and not keeping up with the times—part of the momentum turning against them was granting multiple nominations to Emily in Paris while completely ignoring Michaela Coel’s breakout hit I May Destroy You. And when they sank so low that celebrities were able to claim the moral high ground, they were essentially forced to sell out to Todd Boehly, who they now allege was self-dealing and left them no alternatives to consider.

But at least they had five years’ guaranteed salary. But when that rug got pulled out from underneath them, well. Here we are. They were fired in February, four months later, they voted to reconstitute the HFPA and “reexamine” the deal with Boehly. Sounds like they’re looking for a way out, and a way to regain control of not only their own membership organization, but the Globes, too. Four years later, we’re approaching the place where we started, with the HFPA being a secretive group in control of the Golden Globes. Time really is a flat circle. 

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