Former Essence CEO Caroline Wanga sues over fallout from Essence Fest controversy

Wanga claims company leadership failed to publicly clarify that she was not involved in planning or operations tied to the festival.

Caroline Wanga’s split from Essence Ventures is now headed to court.

On Thursday, June 11, the former CEO filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against both Essence Ventures and Sundial Media for defamation, alleging her reputation was mishandled amid the fallout from discourse surrounding last year’s Essence Festival of Culture.

“Out of an abundance of courtesy, I share this regarding my personal integrity, professional ethos & purpose journey,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post containing screenshots of a press release from her attorney’s office and the lawsuit.

“#ImHighlyPercentSure that some missing knowledge has led to false assumptions regarding my leave as President/CEO that predated the activation of operational planning for a significant annualized event,” she continued.

According to the lawsuit, Wanga spent months watching criticism tied to the festival, held annually in New Orleans across the July 4th weekend, attach itself to her name, even though she says she was no longer involved in the company’s operations. The filing alleges Wanga resigned as CEO in March 2025 after being on medical leave since September 2024, months before planning for the 2025 festival was underway.

“Because she remained publicly held out as the CEO, she was blamed by the public for the failure of the festival and faced significant backlash, including threats directed toward her and lies spread widely about her,” the lawsuit states.

The filing alleges that beginning in July 2025, Wanga, who issued a statement herself at the time, repeatedly asked company leadership to publicly clarify that she had been on health-related leave and was not involved in the festival’s planning, programming, sponsorships, or operations.

“Beginning in July, Ms. Wanga made multiple requests to Company leadership to clarify that she was not involved with the festival, she had been on health-related leave, and neither her heritage nor her prior employment had any connection to the programming or sponsorships of the festival. Her colleagues, friends, and supporters made similar requests,” her legal counsel alleges. 

The lawsuit continued, “Despite these requests, when Essence Ventures announced her departure in August 2025, it intentionally omitted these key facts.”

Wanga is seeking damages and a jury trial. In the lawsuit, she claims the controversy caused significant harm to her business ventures, including her company, Wanga Woman. She alleges revenue fell to zero, employees had to be laid off, book sales declined, and business opportunities dried up as a result of the fallout.

The filing marks Wanga’s first Instagram post since August 2025, when she and Essence Ventures jointly announced that she would not return from health leave and was stepping down as president and CEO. The timing sparked widespread speculation, coming amid intense scrutiny of the brand following the festival.

“ESSENCE Ventures today announced that Caroline Wanga, who has been on health leave since September 2024, has made the decision not to return to her position as President and CEO of ESSENCE Ventures,” the company said at the time.

“We are profoundly grateful to Caroline for her leadership, vision, and unwavering advocacy of Black women and culture,” said Richelieu Dennis, founder and chairman of Sundial Technology & Media Group, parent company of ESSENCE Ventures. “Her expertise in culture, equity, and organizational change has fueled progress across the ESSENCE Ventures portfolio. Caroline has left an indelible mark on ESSENCE and beyond, and we celebrate the many ways she has amplified our mission and impact.”

Sundial Technology & Media Group did not immediately return theGrio’s request for comment. 

The discourse surrounding last year’s Essence Festival was a mixture of criticisms about access, influencer involvement, production, sponsorships, and planning. Confusion surrounding Lauryn Hill’s late set during opening weekend fueled further criticism before ESSENCE publicly clarified that earlier delays had pushed her performance back.

As criticism spread online, the conversation quickly moved beyond production complaints and into broader debates about the brand’s direction and relationship to Black American culture. According to the lawsuit, Wanga became a target of much of that criticism despite her absence from the company.

The lawsuit alleges that some critics blamed Wanga’s Kenyan heritage for perceived changes within the brand and accused her of “erasing Black American heritage.” The filing includes examples of comments directed at her online, including “go back to Africa,” “the Africans took over,” and “that African girl is running it and ruining it.”

Wanga further alleges that some criticism stemmed from misconceptions about her previous role at Target and the retailer’s involvement with the festival despite an ongoing boycott.

However, theGrio was on the ground at Essence Fest last year and found that some of the loudest criticism was amplified online and did not always reflect the experience on the ground. The festival was also navigating a number of challenges beyond programming decisions, including economic pressures that continued to affect travel and discretionary spending, particularly among Black women, as well as lingering concerns surrounding tourism in New Orleans following the deadly vehicle attack and shooting in the French Quarter on New Year’s Day.

In announcing the lawsuit, Wanga’s attorney argued that company leadership failed to address those misconceptions as they spread.

“The lawsuit is being brought to hold Essence Ventures and Sundial leadership, including Richelieu Dennis and Kirk McDonald, to account for allowing a false public narrative to destroy Ms. Wanga’s reputation,” Larry Schaefer said in the release. “Essence Ventures and Sundial are supposed to be about elevating Black business and leadership, but this sad story demonstrates that when a scapegoat was useful, Black empowerment went out the window.”