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.
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“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. He added, “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 CEO Richilieu Dennis.
Notably, the company, of which about 80% of the staff are people of color, 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 said 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 2023 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; Combs denied the allegations. In May, CNN released footage leaked from surveillance cameras that appears to depict Combs violently assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel. Combs admitted to “inexcusable” behavior in a video statement posted to Instagram, saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.” In the past several months, Combs has been hit with several other lawsuits and sexual misconduct allegations.
Last summer, before Ventura’s and others’ accusations, Combs turned over his stake in the music-publishing rights of certain artists on his Bad Boy label. He claimed the move was altruistic, while others said that it was performative, that the publishing was worth little decades after the songs were released, and that he might have known or suspected that the accusations were coming. Non-disclosure agreements, including a commitment not to disparage Combs, were said to be part of the publishing arrangements, which led some artists, including Aubrey O’Day of Bad Boy group Danity Kane, to decline the deal. On Tuesday, some parties responded in a similar fashion to the distribution of Combs’ Revolt shares to employees.
Announcing Combs’ departure from the company, Revolt said in a statement at the time: “While Mr. Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora.”
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