Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Viacom Planning to ‘Phase Out’ BET CEO Debra Lee?

BET CEO Debra L. Lee speaks onstage during the 2017 BET Upfront NY at PlayStation Theater on April 27, 2017 in New York City.
BET CEO Debra L. Lee speaks onstage during the 2017 BET Upfront NY at PlayStation Theater on April 27, 2017 in New York City.

*Following news that BET is closing up shop in DC and moving its headquarters to New York after 37 years, there are now reports that parent company Viacom is also planning to oust CEO Debra Lee.

“Viacom has a plan to phase her out after the BET Awards [on June 25]. She was planning to leave the network in November if Hillary Clinton had won the election,” the source said, adding that Lee had expected a position with the Clinton administration.

In addition to Lee’s Tuesday memo informing staff that the network is closing its DC headquarters, the media maven further added fuel to rumors of her eventual departure when she moved to LA and listed her DC home on the market for $13.5 million.

But an source at Viacom told the New York Post’s Page Six that Lee is staying put at BET, and the company is simply in transition.

“Debi is not leaving. Her contract was recently extended, and Viacom is not restructuring BET. Closing the DC office is a part of a transition that’s been occurring for a long time. Everyone understands the move. They’re not surprising anyone,” the source said.

The office move follows news of former executive vice president and head of original programming Zola Mashariki filing a discrimination lawsuit against the company and ousted top exec Stephen Hill.

“The company fosters a good old boys’ club atmosphere and mentality that are hostile to women and their advancement. This misogynistic culture, which marginalizes, demeans and undervalues women, begins at the top of the corporate structure,” she claims in the suit.

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