Journalist Katty Kay resigns from Ozy Media in fallout from NYT story

Veteran journalist and political analyst Katty Kay has resigned from her position at Ozy Media following a New York Times story saying a top executive at the company attempted to deceive potential investors.

“Yesterday morning I handed in my resignation to Ozy Media,” Kay tweeted on Wednesday. “I was looking forward to working with the talented young reporters but I did not expect this!”

Kay said she found the allegations in The New York Times’s story “deeply troubling” and had “no choice” but to end her relationship with Ozy.

Yesterday morning I handed in my resignation to Ozy Media. I was looking forward to working with the talented young reporters but I did not expect this! pic.twitter.com/fc5Ii6ifav

— Katty Kay (@KattyKay_) September 29, 2021

Kay was hired in May by the media company, which distributes newsletters, video segments and podcasts across various digital platforms, to serve as a senior editor and executive producer. She also launched a podcast with the company’s founder and CEO, Carlos Watson.

Her resignation comes just days after The New York Times published an article, citing several unnamed sources, revealing that a top executive at Ozy had impersonated a staffer at YouTube during a conference call with potential investors from Goldman Sachs. On the call, the Ozy executive said, “Ozy was a great success on YouTube, racking up significant views and ad dollars,” the Times reported.

After YouTube was made aware of the incident and conducted an investigation into the call, Watson apologized to Goldman Sachs, saying the Ozy executive who had impersonated a YouTube representative, Chief Operating Officer Samir Rao, had been going through a mental health crisis, according to the Times.

“Samir is a valued colleague and a close friend,” Watson said in an email to the newspaper. “I’m proud that we stood by him while he struggled, and we’re all glad to see him now thriving again.”

Axios reported on Wednesday one of Ozy’s earliest investors, SV Angel, had surrendered its shares in the company following the New York Times report.

The Hill has reached out to Ozy for comment.

Kay, a regular on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and other political news programs, worked for years at the BBC as an anchor, reporter and correspondent before joining Ozy.

“I’ve never found a reason to leave the BBC,” Kay said when she joined Ozy. “It took a really special place to get me to leave a special place.”