Fledgling media start-up Ozy Media continues to implode in the wake of scandalous claims - this time, for lying that heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon invested in the company after suing it for trademark infringement.
During a 2019 interview with CNBC, Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson boasted that he was friends with the Osbournes after the two parties settled a lawsuit over Ozy Media's Ozyfest and its likeness to the Osbournes' Ozzfest music festival.
He added that they were on such good terms that the Osbournes even became investors in the fledgling media company, saying: 'They're part of the family.'
But Sharon told CNBC that Watson's story was just one more of the many lies being exposed in the wake of a tsunami of scandalous claims against Ozy Media that began just five days ago when Watson's fellow co-founder was accused of posing as a YouTube exec to investors.
'We're not ever, ever a friend, and we don't have any interest in his company,' Sharon said. 'He's insane.'
'This guy is the biggest shyster I have ever seen in my life.'
How Ozy Media imploded in a week:
On Sunday, the New York Times revealed that Ozy co-founder Samir Rao allegedly impersonated a YouTube exec to impress potential investors On Wednesday, a Forbes article revealed how Ozy operated a toxic and abusive culture of overworking young and inexperienced employees The article also detailed how Ozy profited off the insurance money of a cancelled music festival in 2019 likened to the Fyre Fest fiasco Wednesday also saw Ozy investor Ron Conway, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, surrender all his shares of the company On Thursday, Ozy Chairman Marc Lasry stepped down, saying the company was in need of crisis management leadership That same day, former BBC anchor Katty Kay, one of Ozy's biggest names also resigned after learning of Rao's alleged behavior CNN later released a report detailing how Ozy CEO Carlos Watson acted as a 'bully' who never took no for an answer On Thursday, the NY Times found that television producer Brad Bessey had quit Ozy in August when he found out the show he was producing had no cable deal Sharon Osbourne also spoke up on Thursday, revealing that Watson's claim that the Osbournes invested in the company was a lie
Carlos Watson, pictured in February, had claimed he was good friends with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and that the iconic television couple had invested in Ozy Media
Sharon Osburne, pictured with her husband Ozy, denied Watson's claims and said her interactions with Ozy Media were never amicable as the couple sued over the company's Ozyfest name due to its striking similarity to the heavy metal legend's Ozzfest
The Osbournes sued Ozyfest in 2017 and settled in court with the condition that Ozyfest distance itself from the Osbournes' brand
In truth, Ozy media and the Osbournes are far from friends as Sharon saw the company as nothing but a headache for her and her husband's brand.
The iconic Osbournes first came to learn of Ozy Media in 2016 after the media company launched its Ozyfest event in Manhattan.
The Osbournes claimed OzyFest trademarks were 'nearly identical in sight, sound, connotation and commercial impression to MLC's [Monowise Limited Corp.] well-known Ozzfest mark,' court documents showed.
The television power-couple sent a cease-and-desist letter to Ozy Media before suing the company in 2017.
Sharon said the Osburnes paid about $300,000 in legal fees over the trademark battle before settling the dispute in court, which involved Ozyfest distancing itself from the famous festival.
Sharon said it became annoying to keep up with Watson and Ozy Media to keep the company from infringing on her family's brand.
'He couldn't have the sort of artists that we have on our bill,' Sharon said. 'So he couldn't have any rock artists or alternative artists on his bill. Because he was starting to take rap artists and we've had a few rap artists on. So I'm like 'this is getting ridiculous now.' So, he had to approve the bills with me and he had to approve the advertising with me.'
Sharon Osbourne claimed Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson tried to strong arm her family into ending their lawsuit by talking up their wealth and investors
Watson, pictured at Ozyfest 2018, allegedly offered the Osbournes shares of his company
The Osbournes said they rebuked Watsons offer of shares in his company, saying it was 'worth nothing' during their 2017 legal battle
She added that Watson had allegedly offered her shares of Ozy Media during their legal battle, but she declined after Watson supposedly tried to strong arm the Osbournes with claims of their wealth from billionaire investors.
'To be honest, he did say, "Well we'll give you shares in the company," but I said, 'Your company is worth nothing.'"
Ozy Media's known investors are Laurene Powell Jobs, wife of the late Apple founder Steven Jobs, venture capitalist Ron Conway and former Google exec David Drummond.
Berlin publishing giant Axel Springer, investment bank LionTree and the radio and podcast company iHeart Media also invested in the company.
The Ford Foundation also gifted Ozy grants as part of its program to support minority-led companies, The New York Times reported.
The named investors did not immediately reply to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
On Wednesday, Conway surrendered all of his shares in the company, Axios reported.
On Thursday, Ozy Media Chairman Marc Lasry stepped down in the wake of a tsunami of scandalous claims which began just five days ago when co-founder Samir Rao was accused of posing as a YouTube exec to investors.
Since then, allegations have surfaced accusing the company of a toxic work environment, a bullying boss, and smoke-and-mirror business tactics that almost ended in a Fyre Festival-style disaster.
Lasry, a billionaire financier, admitted that Ozy was in dire need of 'crisis management' as he resigned his position.
He told the New York Times: 'I believe that going forward Ozy requires experience in areas like crisis management and investigations, where I do not have particular expertise'.
'For that reason, I have stepped down from the company's board. I remain an investor in the company and wish it the best going forward.'
Rao had allegedly set up a videoconference call with Goldman Sachs on Feb. 2 that included an appearance by Piper to discuss Ozy's standing on the social media platform.
Ozy Media Chairman Marc Lasry resigned on Thursday, days after a report found that the company's co-founder Samir Rao allegedly impersonated a YouTube executive on a call with potential investors
The company's co-founder Samir Rao (right) allegedly impersonated a YouTube executive Alex Piper (left) on a call with potential investors
But when it came time for Piper to talk, Goldman Sachs officials received a notice that the YouTube exec was running late and having trouble logging into Zoom.
The videoconference then switched over to an old-fashioned telephone call where Rao allegedly began impersonating Piper.
During the call, Rao - as Piper - boasted that Ozy had a huge subscriber base, garnered significant ad dollars and was run by an incredible leader, all to win favor with Goldman Sachs.
Ozy had also allegedly claimed it had a great relationship with YouTube, where many of its videos attracted more than a million views despite the company having only about 95,500 subscribers.
Goldman Sachs officials described the call as unnatural, almost sounding 'digitally altered,' the Times reported.
After the call, a Goldman Sachs official emailed a confused Piper, who said that he was never on the call.
YouTube launched its own investigation after finding that someone had impersonated one of their executives, which quickly led them to identify Rao.
Carlos Watson, Ozy's chief executive officer reached out to Goldman Sachs and also confirmed that Rao was the one on the call, apologizing profusely for his actions.
Watson blamed the incident on Rao's mental health.
Lasry, who invested just $1 million in the startup - according to Axios - had previously defended Watson and the company following the report.
In a statement to the Times, he wrote, 'The board was made aware of the incident, and we fully support the way it was handled.'
He added, 'The incident was an unfortunate one-time event, and Carlos and his team showed the kind of compassion we would all want if any of us faced a difficult situation in our own lives.'
Marc Lasry, right, had defended Ozy Media and its leadership following the report of co-founder Samir Rao impersonating a YouTube exec. Lasry is pictured in January with Michael Jordan, left, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
Earlier this year Emmy Award-winning television producer Brad Bessey quit the company after he discovered he was producing a show for the embattled company without there being a network on which to air it.Bessey joined Ozy Media in June 2020, to work on The Carlos Watson Show - a daily, half-hour talk show presented by Watson, who is also Ozy's CEO.
He was told repeatedly that the show would be broadcast on the cable channel A&E.
But this summer he discovered that there was no agreement with A&E, and that the show would just appear on Ozy's YouTube channel.
Bessey and his team had told guests that they were appearing on a show to be broadcast on A&E, and said he was deeply troubled by the duplicity.
