Ozy Media closes its doors after days of scandal, reports of lies and misconduct

The board of directors of Ozy Media announced the shutdown of the company on Friday, according to the New York Times.

“At Ozy, we are fortunate to have a remarkable team of dedicated staff,” the company’s board of directors told The New York Times. “Many of them are world-class journalists and experienced professionals to whom we owe immense gratitude and who are wonderful colleagues. It is therefore with heavy hearts that we must announce today that we are closing the doors. from Ozy. “

A spokesperson for Ozy Media was not immediately available for comment. According to Axios, which also announced the closure of Ozy Media, the company had 75 full-time employees.

The news follows a week of reporting on malpractice and lies within the company.

The New York Times first reported on Sunday that an executive from Ozy, who later turned out to be COO Samir Rao, posed as a YouTube executive during a conference call with Goldman Sachs, which was considering a $ 40 million investment in the company. The company is also said to have significantly inflated its monthly unique visitors, a metric used by media companies to attract advertisers.

This report triggered a free fall in the company.

Former BBC presenter Katty Kay and one of Ozy Media’s executive producers quit the company on Wednesday amid the fallout.

On Thursday, Marc Lasry resigned from his post as president of Ozy Media after only three weeks of work. Billionaire investor Lasry is the CEO of Avenue Capital Group and owner of NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I think to move forward, Ozy requires experience in areas like crisis management and investigations, where I don’t have any particular expertise,” Lasry said Thursday. He added that there was still an investor in Ozy Media.

CNBC also reported Thursday that Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson lied when he claimed Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne had invested in his business. The Osbournes filed a trademark complaint in 2017 against the company name Ozy Fest, which is the company’s annual concert and festival. Osbourne told CNBC that Watson took advantage of his relationship with billionaire Ozy Media investor Laurene Powell Jobs to threaten legal action. “This guy is the biggest crook I have ever seen in my life,” Osbourne said.

Ozy Media also promised former producers that he was filming a show for A&E, according to a New York Times report on Thursday. But the producers discovered that was also a lie and that A&E had never planned to broadcast interviews that Ozy Media had filmed, according to the New York Times.

This is last minute news. Please check for updates.