A stylist who worked on Ozy Media's The Carlos Watson Show has slammed the company's 'questionable marketing spin' and the 'unethical' decisions made by executives after a tsunami of scandalous revelations led to it shutting down for good.
Kimmy Erin Kertes, who goes by KimmyErin on Instagram, posted a series of photos - first of her cozied to co-founder Carlos Watson, and then of him in the outfits she seemingly styled throughout the show.
Kertes made the post on Friday, soon after Watson gathered the company's staffers at the headquarters in Mountain View, California, to announce through tears that the company was finished.
'Let me explain,' she started the lengthy caption on the post, noting that Friday, when she found out she was losing her job, was 'heartbreaking to say the very least'.
She noted Watson's charm, charisma and easy-to-follow vision, 'especially in light of the racial injustice,' but then criticized Ozy's board and executives for their 'unethical and brutal choices,' adding that she 'always wondered' if the company was 'a house of cards'.
Stylist Kimmy Erin Kertes (pictured left with Watson) who dressed Ozy's Carlos Watson when he appeared on The Carlos Watson show posted an Instagram Saturday in the wake of embattled digital news site Ozy Media shutting down - and she slammed the company's 'questionable marketing spin' and the 'unethical' decisions made by executives
Kertes, who goes by KimmyErin on the social media site, posted a series of photos alongside a lengthy caption after Watson just yesterday gathered the company's staffers at the headquarters in Mountain View, California, to announce through tears that the company was finished
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 Shortly after 5pm on Friday, Ozy's board said the company was shutting down'The crew of The Carlos Watson Show was blindsided by an article in The New York Times revealing damning information about potential securities fraud and fake audiences and questionable marketing spin,' Kertes penned.
Ozy has faced a snowballing crisis after allegations the company's COO, Samir Rao (pictured), impersonated a YouTube executive on a call with investors
The Times article she referenced, which was published on Sunday, single-handedly sent Ozy Media plummeting to its demise within a week.
The story revealed that Ozy's COO Samir Rao allegedly impersonated a YouTube executive to impress potential investors at Goldman Sachs as he tried to raise $40million from the investment bank - a potential case of securities fraud.
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.
Earlier this year Emmy Award-winning television producer Brad Bessey quit the company after he discovered he was producing a show for Ozy without there being a network on which to air it.
Bessey joined the fraudulent network show 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.
Kertes referenced Bessey in her post, noting that as he 'left for ethical reasons, (she) stayed on for the paycheck and the hope that somehow we would find our audience and get the message out'.
Kertes noted Watson's charm, charisma and easy-to-follow vision, 'especially in light of the racial injustice,' but then criticized Ozy's board and executives for their 'unethical and brutal choices,' adding that she 'always wondered' if the company was 'a house of cards'
Kertes was obviously saddened by what The Times' story revealed and later posted an Instagram story showing off her hair after leaving the salon adding that 'everything is gonna be alright'
She noted that she was looking forward to the show 'moving production to LA in January,' after revealing that serving as
