The fall of Will Smith and Jada’s media empire
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith contemplated selling Westbrook Media in the fall of 2021. They were in talks with Candle Media, the acquirer of Hello Sunshine, hoping for a second billion-dollar purchase after Reese Witherspoon’s record $1 billion sale. Despite Will’s powerful brand and Jada’s success with Red Table Talk on Facebook Watch Originals, Candle, backed by Blackstone, valued Westbrook at roughly $600 million, resulting in a blocked transaction. The agreement concluded with Candle investing a paltry $60 million for a 10% stake, which was regarded as a relationship-saving separation fee in the current economic context.
The Smiths were there at the Dolby Theater on March 27, 2022, in their capacity as owners of Westbrook, a promising company expected to bring in approximately $170 million from distribution deals for entertainment. Among the series for Disney+, Apple TV, Snapchat, Netflix, Hulu, and Bel-Air were also arrangements for the film King Richard. With the purchase of German media company Telepool, Westbrook expanded globally and hired roughly 100 people, primarily at its Calabasas offices.
Nevertheless, sources close to Westbrook said that Will Smith’s historic on-stage spat with comedian Chris Rock on Oscars Night threatened the company’s Hollywood business strategy by turning talent into a commodity.
Following the March 2022 event, Westbrook has experienced difficulty securing major agreements with major streaming services and other entertainment conglomerates, resulting in huge budget reductions. When sales fell to $100 million in the previous year, half of the staff—many of whom had been employed in 2021—were let go.
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Numerous partners declined to extend their agreements with Westbrook. After Meta decided not to renew Red Table Talk, Westbrook said that Fubo TV was considering their possibilities for a new location. However, a Westbrook representative informed Semafor that the program is still on hold and that Westbrook is actively negotiating possible distribution agreements with two current offers.
In 2023, Westbrook encountered difficulties amidst labor strikes and the decline in streaming revenue, prompting inquiries regarding the efficacy of transforming a movie star into a super-producer as a means of mitigating the industry’s downturn.
The model also draws attention to the dangers of being a celebrity and the possibility of reality distortion fields. Kosaku Yada, the CEO of Westbrook, first discounted worries about how Will Smith’s event would affect the company’s operations, thinking the celebrity’s reputation would soon improve. Yada resisted asking for more money when business deteriorated, siding with executives who believed it was unwise to bargain from a position of weakness.
Even though Westbrook was in a serious crisis, some of its executives kept spending money more like they were running a well-funded star vehicle than a struggling tiny business. Following “The Slap,” the corporation lent $10 million to CEO Kosaku Yada and another senior officer.
A $2 million bonus was also given to Yada, who used the money for a horse, private planes, and moving from Los Angeles to the Bahamas. Westbrook is currently reducing its lofty objectives, and there are indications that Candle, the Westbrook-affiliated firm, is pulling away by not having operational control or board seats. CFO Kevin McDonald left discreetly.
The fall of Will Smith and Jada’s media empire
source: semafor
