Jemele Hill is reportedly negotiating a departure from Spotify, where she has exclusively hosted her all-issues podcast, “Jemele Hill is Unbothered,” since 2019. She is said to be searching for a new home for her show, and her ‘Unbothered’ podcast network, which features other Black podcasters, is also shutting down. Reports suggest that Spotify might let her out of her contract early or let it lapse.
The controversy over Jemele Hill’s departure from Spotify
Outkick, a conservative outlet, has portrayed Jemele Hill’s departure from Spotify as her getting fired after “daring the company to pay her or another black host $100 million,” the same amount they paid Joe Rogan. Jemele Hill has denied this on Twitter, stating that she never asked Spotify for $100M and that her podcast has not been cancelled. She also clarified that her 2021 quote about wanting to see Spotify invest $100 million in prominent Black podcasters was taken out of context.
Jemele Hill said that a lot of what has been reported about her departure from Spotify is untrue, and that her podcast will continue for now. She also revealed that Sabrina Elba will be her next guest, followed by Blair Underwood, Kasi Lemmons, JR Smith, Kenny Latimore, and more. Finally, she said that when she has something to say, she will say it.
Spotify has reportedly been dropping podcasts that do not generate significant revenue, which might be one of the reasons for Jemele Hill’s departure from the platform. Jemele Hill’s podcast is not one of the top-performing shows on the platform.
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