The Golden Globes has abruptly ended its controversial $75,000 annual payments to voting members, raising fresh questions about the integrity of past awards. The move, announced in a Zoom call by President Helen Hoehne, affects 50 former members of the now-defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), The Los Angeles Times reports.

For years, the HFPA dominated Hollywood’s awards circuit—until a 2021 scandal exposed its lack of diversity and questionable financial practices. The backlash led to NBC pulling the broadcast, forcing the group into an overhaul. Media giant Penske Media Eldridge acquired the organization, turning the Golden Globes into a for-profit venture and expanding its voting pool to 300 members from 85 countries.

A Golden Globes spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that the payouts had to go, claiming they fueled “perceptions of bias.” But does this decision come too late? With decades of winners chosen under a system that paid its voters, skeptics are questioning whether Hollywood’s biggest names truly won on merit.

Unlike the Globes, the Academy Awards, the Emmys, and the Grammys do not pay their voting members. The Oscars, run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, rely on an unpaid voting body of 8,000 industry professionals. This stark contrast has left many wondering: Was the Golden Globes ever a fair game, or was Hollywood’s most glamorous night just another pay-to-play scheme?