Golden Globe Awards
The 1944-founded film and television awards now owned by Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries, airing on CBS — and being sued for $150 million by the very organization that created them.
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- Established
- 1944
- Location
- Beverly Hills, California, United States
- Country
- United States
- What it is
- Annual awards honoring excellence in film and television, created by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in 1944
- First ceremony
- "January 20, 1944, at the 20th Century-Fox studios, honoring 1943 filmmaking; the HFPA itself had been formed in 1943"
- First televised
- 1958, the first year the ceremony was broadcast on television
- Current owner
- Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries, which took over the show from the HFPA in June 2023; DCP is owned by Penske Media; the awards are now a for-profit venture and the HFPA has been dissolved
- Broadcast home
- CBS under a five-year deal (with streaming on Paramount+) announced in March 2024; the 81st Golden Globes drew an average of 9.4 million viewers, up about 50% from 2023
- The 2026 lawsuit
- On July 28, 2026, the HFPA filed a federal lawsuit against Penske Media, chairman Jay Penske and others, alleging a "clandestine" plot to seize the show and seeking at least $150 million in damages plus cancellation of the asset acquisition
- The boycott years
- After the Los Angeles Times reported the HFPA had no Black members, Hollywood boycotted the group; NBC pulled the 2022 ceremony off the air
- Notable honorees
- Amy Adams has won two Golden Globes, for American Hustle and Big Eyes; Cameron Diaz is a four-time Golden Globe nominee
Overview
The organization that created the Golden Globe Awards is suing the company that now owns them. On July 28, 2026, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the group that created the Globes in 1944 — filed a federal lawsuit accusing Penske Media, its chairman Jay Penske and other defendants of orchestrating a “clandestine” plot to seize control of the show (USA Today). The complaint alleges an “illicit scheme” that ended with the dissolution of the 80-year-old HFPA, and seeks “at least” $150 million in damages plus a court order canceling the acquisition of the Golden Globes’ assets, rights and properties (USA Today). The Golden Globes responded that the suit “continues the absurdity and irrationality that the industry has come to expect from the defunct organization formerly known as the HFPA” (USA Today).
That is where the 80-year-old awards show stands in 2026: born in a Fox studio lot, raised by a small club of foreign journalists, exiled from its longtime network, and now a for-profit property at the center of a nine-figure legal fight over who stole it.
An 80-year-old ceremony
The first Golden Globe Awards were held on January 20, 1944, at the 20th Century-Fox studios, honoring the best achievements of 1943 filmmaking; the Hollywood Foreign Press Association itself had been formed the year before (City of Jackson history document). The ceremony was first broadcast on television in 1958, and television categories were added in the decades that followed, making the Globes one of the few major awards shows to span both film and television (City of Jackson history document). For decades the show aired on NBC — until the HFPA’s lack of diversity and ethical controversies detonated. After the Los Angeles Times reported that the HFPA had no Black members, Hollywood boycotted the group, publicists withheld talent, and NBC pulled the 2022 ceremony off the air (USA Today; Associated Press).
The aftermath remade the institution. In June 2023, Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries announced they had taken over the awards show from the HFPA; the HFPA was subsequently dissolved and the Globes became a for-profit venture, with DCP owned by Penske Media (USA Today; Associated Press). CBS stepped in as the new broadcast home, and in March 2024 the two sides announced a five-year deal with live streaming on Paramount+ (Associated Press). The January 2024 telecast — the 81st Golden Globes — averaged 9.4 million viewers, up about 50% from the diminished 2023 show, stabilizing an event that had briefly teetered on the brink (Associated Press).
The HFPA’s 2026 lawsuit claims the whole sequence was engineered: that around 2021, Penske and billionaire associate Todd Boehly used the Hollywood trade publications they control — The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline, Rolling Stone — to instigate the boycott, devalue the organization, and make it vulnerable to acquisition (USA Today). No court has ruled on the claims.
The people it made
The Globes’ own archive is a ledger of Hollywood careers. Amy Adams — whom the Golden Globes’ site describes as “one of the most accomplished and versatile actresses in Hollywood today” — had been nominated for nine Golden Globes and won two, as of a December 2018 profile on the official site (Golden Globes). Those two wins were for American Hustle and Big Eyes, per Agence France-Presse (AFP). Cameron Diaz is a four-time Golden Globe nominee whose films the Globes’ own site catalogues — There’s Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky and Gangs of New York among them (Men’s Journal; Golden Globes).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not describe the composition of the current Golden Globes voting body — no source read in full detailed it. It does not assert ceremony results after the 81st Golden Globes of January 2024. The 2026 lawsuit’s allegations are reported strictly as claims in the complaint; no court has ruled on them, and Penske Media’s response beyond the Globes’ statement is not asserted. The “first televised in 1958” detail comes from a single government-hosted history document corroborating the standard record. And the Adams “nine nominations” figure is as stated by the Golden Globes in December 2018 — her later nominations are not enumerated here.
Timeline
- 1943
- The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is formed by journalists covering Hollywood for foreign publications.
- 1944
- The first Golden Globe Awards are held on January 20 at the 20th Century-Fox studios, honoring the best achievements of 1943 filmmaking.
- 1958
- The Golden Globes are broadcast on television for the first time.
- 2022
- Following an industry boycott over the HFPA's lack of diversity and ethical controversies, NBC pulls the ceremony off the air.
- 2023
- In June, Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries take over the awards show from the HFPA, which is later dissolved.
- 2024
- The Golden Globes and CBS announce a five-year broadcast deal with Paramount+ streaming; the January telecast averages 9.4 million viewers.
- 2026
- The HFPA sues Penske Media for at least $150 million in federal court, alleging a clandestine scheme to seize the awards; the Golden Globes call the suit "absurdity and irrationality."
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The composition of the current Golden Globes voting body is not described; no source read in full detailed it.
- No ceremony results after the 81st Golden Globes (January 2024) are asserted.
- The lawsuit's allegations are reported as claims in the complaint; no court has ruled on them.
Sources
7 sources (3 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 1 tier 3, 2 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
This profile is built from seven sources read in full: USA Today's July 2026 reporting on the HFPA's $150 million lawsuit; the Associated Press's March 2024 reporting on the CBS/Paramount+ deal (via SHOOTonline); a government-hosted history document for the 1944 first ceremony; the Golden Globes' own site for Amy Adams's two wins and Cameron Diaz's profile; AFP's reporting (via Saudi Gazette) naming Adams's winning films; and Men's Journal for Diaz's four nominations. It leads with the July 2026 lawsuit — 64 days old and covered by no reference profile on page one.
- Supports: HFPA filed federal suit Tuesday July 28, 2026 in U.S. District Court against Penske Media, chairman Jay Penske and others; "clandestine" plot allegation to seize the show; HFPA created the Golden Globes in 1944 and represented foreign media outlets; seeks "at least" $150M plus court order canceling acquisition of assets, rights and properties; Penske Media is parent of Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline, Rolling Stone; allegation that ~2021 Penske and Todd Boehly used trades to instigate boycott; Netflix and Amazon boycotted; NBC pulled 2022 Globes off air; June 2023 DCP and Eldridge announced takeover; HFPA later dissolved; Golden Globes statement calling suit "absurdity and irrationality" Open original source
- Supports: Five-year deal between Golden Globes and CBS announced Monday, with live streaming on Paramount+, beginning with January's telecast; Globes long resided at NBC before scandal led NBC to give them up; CBS aired 81st Golden Globes in January: 9.4M average viewers, up ~50% from 2023; LA Times reported HFPA had no Black members; Hollywood boycotted; 2022 Globes booted off air; HFPA dissolved; acquired by Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which Penske Media owns; turned into for-profit venture Open original source
- History Of The Golden Globes Tier 1Supports: HFPA formed in 1943; on January 20, 1944, the first Golden Globe Awards were held at the 20th Century-Fox studios; in 1958 the Golden Globes were broadcast on television for the first time; television categories added in the 1950s/60s Open original source
- Supports: "She won Golden Globes for her work in 'American Hustle' and 'Big Eyes.'" — naming Adams's two winning films Open original source
- Supports: "the four-time Golden Globe nominee" — Diaz's Globe nomination count Open original source
- Amy Adams - Golden Globes First-partySupports: Amy Adams "has been nominated for nine Golden Globes, in both the lead and supporting categories and won two" (as of December 2018) Open original source
- Cameron Diaz - Golden Globes First-partySupports: The Golden Globes' own profile page for Cameron Diaz, cataloguing her films including There's Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky and Gangs of New York Open original source
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