The Golden Globes are prizes awarded each year in Hollywood by a hundred foreign press correspondents in Hollywood. Tarnished by scandals in recent years, their association will disappear.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), organizer of the Golden Globes and tarnished by scandals in recent years, will disappear after the purchase of these awards by private investors, announced Monday June 13 the association and the buying group in a press release. The HFPA, which brings together around 100 entertainment journalists linked to foreign media, has presented the illustrious Golden Globes to film and television stars for nearly 80 years.
Goodbye HFPA
The most followed awards after the Oscars, usually run by all the cream of the entertainment industry, they had been deserted by the industry in early 2022 after accusations of corruption and racism. The sale of the Golden Globes to a group of private investors, including US billionaire Todd Boehly, was announced in July 2022.
“Today marks a major milestone in the evolution of the Golden Globes“, said in the press release the businessman, whose company Eldridge has partnered with Penske Media Corporation for this acquisition operation.will lead to the eventual disappearance of the HFPA“, says the joint press release. No timetable for this dissolution has been specified. This will include $44 million of the $48 the HFPA will receive from the sale of the Golden Globes, according to a letter from the California attorney general seen by AFP.
Todd Boehly’s weight
Thanks to lucrative broadcasting contracts, the HFPA has held immense power in Hollywood since the 1990s. In 2021, the Los Angeles Times had investigated the functioning of the association and had revealed in particular that it had no black people within it, paving the way for an avalanche of criticism and revelations. The revelations had led to a series of reforms. For their return to television in January, the Golden Globes had recorded the lowest audience in their history, attracting 6.3 million viewers compared to 18 million in 2020.
Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Holding notably owns Dick Clark Productions, which was already producing the Golden Globes broadcast. He is also a minority shareholder in several Hollywood trade publications, including The Hollywood Reportercompetitor of variety, and independent film studio A24, behind recent big hits Everything, Everywhere, All at Once And The Whale. Todd Boehly is also the chairman of London football club Chelsea.