Reporter sues Golden Globes organization over member rules

A Norwegian entertainment reporter on Aug. 3 sued the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that gives out the Golden Globe Awards, alleging that it acts as a cartel that stifles competition for its members.

Reporter Kjersti Flaa filed the lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles, saying that despite reporting on Hollywood for many prominent Norwegian outlets, she has been repeatedly denied membership in the organization. Her suit contends the HFPA consistently rejects qualified new applicants like herself whose work competes with that of existing members.

The suit alleges the organization allocates foreign markets among its members, requires new applicants to pledge not to write for any publication claimed by a member or a rival of that publication, and denies applications that might compete in a market claimed by one of its members.

"Qualified applicants for admission to the HFPA are virtually always rejected because the majority of its 87 members are unwilling to share or dilute the enormous economic benefits they receive as members,'' the suit says.

The HFPA responded in a statement, saying the suit "seems consistent with Ms. Flaa's ongoing attempts to shake down the HFPA, demanding that the HFPA pay her off and immediately admit her prior to the conclusion of the usual annual election process applied to every other HFPA applicant. The HFPA has refused to pay ransom, telling Ms. Flaa that membership was not gained through intimidation."

The suit says that the group's members enjoy huge perks over their colleagues who do the same work but are not members, especially during Hollywood's awards season, whose early months are dominated by the Globes as the most prominent forerunner to the Academy Awards.