LOS ANGELES — The 9th Circuit of Appeals Court has upheld the federal district court's earlier decision to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit that a Norwegian entertainment reporter filed against the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the Golden Globe Awards.
In the summer of 2020, reporter Kjersti Flaa filed suit alleged that, although the HFPA is a tax-exempt organization, it acted like a private club and a cartel, barring qualified applicants who might compete with existing members and severely hampering their professional opportunities.
Federal Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. rejected Flaa's arguments, citing in part her work covering the entertainment industry over the past several years, including earning recognition for her work with a 2018 citation from the SoCal Journalism Awards Contest in 2018 for a profile of Jane Fonda.
