AFTER DIDDY’S EXIT, REVOLT ANNOUNCES NEW OWNERSHIP
NEW YORK. — Revolt has announced a new ownership structure after its founder, Sean “Diddy” Combs, stepped aside as chairman of the television and media company.
Current employees will become the largest shareholder group of Revolt as Combs’ shares of the company have been fully redeemed and retired.
“This is something that we’ve been looking to do, waiting to do, believing that the people who give this company their blood, sweat and tears should have some sort of upside opportunity if and when we win,” Samuels said in an interview with Variety.
“All of the data suggests that the companies that have incentive pools for their employees outperform the rest.
“They perform better financially, they perform better with company morale and culture and they perform better as it relates to retention.”
Employee participation will be allocated over the coming months as Revolt promises staff members a detailed breakdown of the process.
The change in ownership comes after various reports of big-money investors seeking to buy Combs’ stake in the company, including Essence Ventures CEO Richelieu Dennis.
Notably, the company, of which about 80 percent of the staff are people of colour, will remain Black-owned under the new structure.
“There’s no structure that we would have accepted that was not Black-owned,” Samuels said.
He added that the company plans to keep “dreaming bigger and Blacker.”
Added Monique Chenault, president of Revolt Studios:
“We seek out and embrace the genius of the underdog … the voices that have been traditionally silenced.
“For the first time, this group gets a chance at that kind of equity.”
Samuels politely skirted questions about how the allegations against Combs affected the employees of the company and how it offered support to its staff, but Revolt leadership is clear in communicating that the brand is now completely severed from its founder.
As for the future, Samuels said Revolt is “continuing to create more women-led and women-targeted shows” and focus on Revolt Sports.
Combs exited Revolt in November last year following a rape accusation from former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, better known as the R&B star Cassie, who recorded for Combs’ Bad Boy record label.
Cassie accused Combs of raping and beating her over the course of a decade.
In May, CNN released leaked footage captured by surveillance cameras that appears to depict Combs violently assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel.
Combs admitted to “inexcusable” behaviour in a video statement posted to Instagram, saying:
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
In the past few months, Combs has been hit with a handful of other lawsuits and sexual misconduct allegations.