Carlos Watson is teasing new episodes of his “Carlos Watson Show” just weeks after the implosion of his company, Ozy Media.
“BRAND SPANKING NEW FIRE EPISODES ARE COMING YOUR WAY. I’m back where I belong, in the green chair! Stay locked to see what we have been cooking up!” Watson tweeted to his 17,000 followers Tuesday. He added some choice hashtags: “BackToBusiness #OzyMedia #tvproduction #OZYTV #kanyewest #nyt #praisegod #newepisode #youtubechannel #tvhost #hiphop.” (Kanye West’s “Praise God” plays in the background of the accompanying 23-second clip, which shows him sitting down at a chair.)
No date was specified for the new episodes, which air on YouTube.
Watson issued a similar promise that he was “back in the studio” on Nov. 1, saying in a video, “I haven’t seen most of you in over a month. As some of you may know, my world — Ozy’s world — got turned upside down back in late September. It’s been a crazy month. It’s probably been one of the most traumatic times in my life but I missed you guys, I missed the team, I missed Ozy.”
The “traumatic” time to which Watson referred was the fallout from a September New York Times story that revealed, among other things, that a top executive at Ozy had impersonated a Google executive during a call with Goldman Sachs investors.
After the initial report in the Times, Ozy faced accusations that Watson falsely claimed Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne were investors and had produced a Watson-hosted TV talk show while falsely claiming to guests and corporate partners that it would air on A&E. The company then claimed that “The Carlos Watson Show” was Amazon Prime’s first talk show; later, that it had been “sold” to YouTube Originals. Reps for A&E, Amazon and YouTube have all refuted those claims.
Top staffers departed Ozy, investors pulled out and its board moved to shut it down completely, though Watson insisted in October that he was bringing his company back.
Former staffers subsequently told TheWrap they had no plans to return.