Mellody Hobson steps down from LA28 board days before Lucas Museum opening

Mellody Hobson has left the board behind the Los Angeles Olympics, just days before the opening of the museum she co-founded with her husband George Lucas.

Variety confirmed her departure from LA28, the organising committee for the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, on 17 September Variety. LA28 also confirmed the resignation to LAist on the same date LAist. The news came less than a week before a very public deadline across town.

Hobson said the demands of overseeing the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art were too great to continue serving on the LA28 board. The timing is tight. The museum is due to hold a Friday gala and then open to the public on the following Tuesday, only days after her resignation.

The museum, in the South Los Angeles area, is scheduled to open on 22 September 2026, according to the Lucas Museum Lucas Museum. Hobson co-founded it with Lucas. The building will house narrative art, a broad term for images that tell stories, from illustration and comics to cinema.

LA28 is run by a volunteer board of directors LA28. That means members are not paid staff. They provide oversight and guidance for the organisation putting on the Games.

The board has 35 members. It is led by chair Casey Wasserman, a sports and entertainment executive. Hobson was one of that group until this week.

Before she stepped down, the Fair Games Coalition had sought a meeting with Hobson. The group has raised concerns connected to the Olympics and Paralympics, including housing and workers' needs. Variety reported the meeting request as part of its account of her departure.

What makes this stand out is the calendar. For Los Angeles, the two projects now move forward on separate tracks. One opens its doors on 22 September. The other continues its long run toward the Games with one fewer board member.