Gregory Goeckner has been fired as CEO of the Golden Globe Foundation in a vote from the foundation’s board, the foundation told TheWrap on Friday.
Goeckner and the Golden Globes Foundation are both being sued by remaining members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for what the lawsuit describes as efforts to dismantle the HFPA, acquire the Golden Globe Awards and consolidate power across the awards and entertainment business in Hollywood. Jay Penske and the Penske Media Corporation are also named as defendants in the suit. Eldridge Industries owner Todd Boehly is frequently mentioned in the suit, but is not listed as a defendant.
Goeckner was a longtime counsel and COO for the HFPA before becoming a key figure in the 2022 revamping of the Golden Globes. The overhaul took place in the wake of a 2022 boycott launched by Hollywood PR firms to protest the organization’s absence of any Black voters and history of ethically dubious dealings with talent, studios and networks.
According to a report from Page Six Hollywood’s Tatiana Siegel, the move to oust Goeckner was spearheaded by foundation board members Silvia Bizio and Raffi Boghosian, both members of the HFPA. Boghosian confirmed to TheWrap that he is the newly elected president of the Golden Globe Foundation.
Of the nine current foundation board members, seven were members of the HFPA before the Penske/Boehly takeover.
The Golden Globe Awards was formerly a non-profit enterprise of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which gave out annual grants with some of the money earned by the Globes. When Penske Media and Eldridge Industries took over the show in the wake of the boycott, it essentially dissolved the HFPA, removed many of its members and turned the Globes into a for-profit venture.
The charitable arm of the old organization shifted to the new Golden Globe Foundation, and Goeckner was appointed CEO of that foundation.
Last year, HFPA members voted to formally reactivate and audit Penske and Boehly’s acquisition. Their subsequent lawsuit singles out Goeckner, who it alleges surreptitiously transferred $4 million from HFPA accounts to the Foundation in an attempt to push the HFPA to dissolve.
A spokesperson for the Golden Globes declined to comment on Goeckner’s removal. Foundation officials confirmed Goeckner’s removal but did not immediately respond to questions about its connection to the lawsuit.
