Just one month after Revolt celebrated its 10-year anniversary, the company embarked on a rocky path and still faces questions about its future after founder Sean “Diddy” Combs stepped down as its chairman amid allegations of sexual assault in November.
Combs removed himself from the company after he was beset with multiple lawsuits, the first from ex-girlfriend Cassie, who accused him of sexual assault and other forms of abuse in an explosive lawsuit Combs quickly settled while denying the claims.
Additional lawsuits were filed by others; the case against Combs grew even more serious March 25, when his houses were raided by federal agents as part of what was described as an ongoing investigation.
Combs launched Revolt with former studio executive Andy Schuon in October 2013 as an urban music-focused digital cable television network geared toward African American audiences, and remained a visible part of the brand until his departure.
Yet despite the drama surrounding Combs that has now also enveloped rapper Yung Miami — the host of the Revolt talk show Caresha Please who was named in a recent lawsuit — the media and TV company has stood strong as its own entity, insists CEO Detavio Samuels.
“We lost no clients, we lost no employees, we didn’t lose a dollar,” Samuels told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview on March 5, before the recent raid.
“Q4 was the largest quarter in the history of Revolt, and 2023 was the best advertising year we’ve had in the history of Revolt.
In all ways it was record-breaking, even in the middle of a crisis.”
In its history, Revolt has produced content in various forms, from the coming-of-age feature film Dope and the award-winning special, REVOLT x Michelle Obama: The Cross-Generational Conversation, to the creation of the annual Revolt Summit and, most recently, a string of successful video podcasts that includes Caresha Please, the N.O.R.E and DJ EFN-hosted Drink Champs, and the Gen Z-centered Black Girl Stuff.
The programming speaks to Revolt’s core audience, which is split evenly between men and women in the 18- to 34-year-old age bracket.
Samuels sees Revolt as more than just a Black content platform. “Black culture is global culture,” says the CEO.
“We believe that we are the future of digital media, that we are currently, and we will continue to be.”
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