Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is fighting accusations that he engaged in “fraudulent” behavior in winning the Golden Globes.
The claim was made by former members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which used to organize the iconic film and television awards, but has been dismissed by a source close to the American billionaire as a “character assassination”.
The unnamed group accused Boehly of unfairly taking control of the Globes in 2023 after the awards suffered a boycott by stars and publicists following years of scandal and the revelation that the HFPA had no Black voting members.
These sensational claims about Boehly, who led the consortium that bought Cheslea FC from Roman Abramovich in a £4.25bn deal in 2022, were made in a legal letter sent to the California Attorney General in the hope that he would investigate the takeover.
Chelsea have spent around £1.15bn on transfers since the Boehly-led consortium bought Chelsea but have not finished higher than sixth in the Premier League, although they are fourth under Enzo Maresca this campaign.
The letter followed accusations that Boehly had overseen a regime of “crass profiteering” in his new organization that runs the Globes, including accusations of “prostituting” the Globes brand for “dirty events in the Middle East,” according to the Hollywood Puck news website.
Todd Boehly is fighting accusations that he engaged in “fraudulent” behavior in winning the Golden Globes.
Boehly acquired the Golden Globes in 2023 through his private equity firm Eldridge Industries, along with Dick Clark Productions
Puck also highlighted claims that the program now charges thousands of dollars to post movies and TV shows on its screening platform, something the HFPA never did, while ticket prices and other fees have also increased.
The letter sent in September 2023 asked Attorney General Rob Bonta to delay approving a formal “dissolution” of the HFPA, because its members had allegedly been “intentionally misled” when they approved the acquisition.
The group, made up of international entertainment journalists, stated that final approval had to be given because the HFPA had a charitable arm.
But sources close to Boehly have disputed claims that the letter could affect the acquisition of the Globes by his private equity firm, Eldridge Industries, along with Dick Clark Productions, run by Jay Penske, the media mogul.
A source suggested to MailOnline that the agreement had already been signed and there was no suggestion that the Attorney General had launched any investigation into the claims.
The source said it appeared the letter had recently been leaked to embarrass Boehly at the time of nominations for the Golden Globes ceremony.
The Attorney General's office told Puck earlier this month that it was “currently reviewing the final waiver of objection request” to delay the final dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
The office did not respond to MailOnline's request for comment on what action had been or was being taken in relation to the letter.
A legal letter allegedly accuses Boehly of “crass profiteering” and “prostituting” the Globes brand for “dirty events in the Middle East.”
Tom Cruise was one of the figures who spoke out against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which used to organize the awards show before Boehly's company.
Boehly's inauguration followed the boycott of the HFPA that occurred in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement after it was revealed that the organization had no Black members in its 87-member voting body, and had not inducted any in almost two decades.
There were also accusations of ethical lapses, including inappropriate “gifts” from studios and public relations agencies in exchange for votes cast by HFPA member journalists in the prestigious awards.
Among the actors who spoke were Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise, who returned his three Golden Globes, and Scarlett Johansson, who urged other stars to “step back” from the ceremony in protest after remembering having to endure sexist interviews by some HFPA journalists. .
The outcry led to Boehly being named interim executive director of the HFPA with the task of bringing about change and making the awards acceptable again.
The move came about because his holding company Eldridge Industries owned Dick Clark Productions, which had produced the ceremony on behalf of the HFPA since 1987.
HFPA members ultimately voted to allow a full takeover of Boehly, allowing him to run the Globes as a for-profit entity while retaining a charitable arm and rehiring many paid members to continue evaluating productions for the awards.
But the letter which was sent to the Attorney General and seen by MailOnine accused Boehly of a conflict of interest by effectively acting as a “seller” of the struggling HFPA and as a “buyer”.
He claimed that full details of his takeover proposal were only shown to members eight days before they were due to vote on it.
In 2021 he was named interim executive director of the HFPA with the mission of restoring awards eligibility.
There was also pressure on members from HFPA president Helen Hoehne to ignore a counteroffer from Pacific Coast Entertainment to take over the Globes, it was alleged.
Two HFPA officials are said to have been shown only the first and last pages of Boehly's purchase agreement before signing it.
The letter went on to accuse Boehly and Ms. Hoehne of alleged questionable dealings with “numerous breaches of their fiduciary duties” and “fraudulent and improper execution of the purchase agreement.”
He further alleged that all members who had “expressed discontent” about the agreement had been accused of being “conspiracy theorists” by Ms. Hoehne, and those who refused to sign new contracts or confidentiality agreements had been “fired without compensation”.
But a person who was involved in the 18-month Boehly acquisition negotiations insisted that the mogul had acted legally and correctly throughout the process.
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the source said: 'This was a flawed organisation. There were definitely issues that needed to be addressed and they (Boehly's team) took steps to do so.
'Todd Boehly abstained from participating in any vote where there was a conflict of interest and the entire matter was examined by top lawyers. They followed the rules and the law exactly.
'This letter is not a demand. It has no legal weight. It's not that there is irrefutable proof or new information. They are the same ones who complain. Some of them were people who were expelled. It's a slander.'
It assumed full control in 2023 after the HFPA boycott and its voting panel is said to have a more culturally and ethnically diverse cast.
Puck's article claimed that other legal filings had accused Boehly of bringing in Penske as a partner over HFPA bosses, who disagreed with his involvement.
This “apparently was done to clear up self-dealing and conflicts of interest presented by Boehly's status as buyer and seller in this transaction,” the letter alleged.
A member of the HFPA, which has been renamed the Golden Globes Foundation, told Puck: “There is no world in which any of us would have agreed to be part of the Penske entertainment media monopoly.”
Under Boehly, the Golden Globes voting panel is said to have grown to 334 members from 85 countries, about 60 percent of whom were ethnically or culturally diverse.
Boehly's representative at Eldridge Industries, a spokesman for the Golden Globes and Ms. Hoehne declined to comment.