Sean “Diddy” Combs has officially sold his stake in Revolt, and employees have become the company’s largest shareholders.
On June 4th, Revolt unveiled its new ownership structure following Combs’ exit as chairman of the television and media company he founded in 2013. The latest model aims to incentivize team members, boost company morale, and keep Revolt Black-owned.
Company staff, comprising 80% people of color, will soon receive detailed breakdowns of employee participation. Revolt remaining Black-owned, which was a priority for the company, CEO Detavio Samuels teased their plans to keep “dreaming bigger and Blacker.”
“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.
“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.”
Future plans include “continuing to create more women-led and women-targeted shows,” Samuels shared along with the expansion of Revolt Sports.
“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,” Monique Chenault, president of Revolt Studios, said.
Samuels stayed quiet on questions about how Combs’ allegations have
impacted the Revolt team but did confirm the hip-hop mogul’s ties to the company have been completely severed. Combs stepped down from his role at Revolt in November 2023, shortly after settling a shocking lawsuit with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that accused him of sex, physical, and drug abuse, among other allegations.Since Ventura’s lawsuit, Combs has been hit with additional lawsuits involving allegations of rape, misconduct, sex trafficking, and other criminal activity. Last month, CNN released leaked surveillance camera footage that showed Combs assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel.
The Bad Boy founder later took to Instagram to share a video in which he admitted to his “inexcusable” behavior.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said.