G/O Media Sues Paste Media a Year After Selling It Jezebel

The digital media firm G/O Media filed a lawsuit in Delaware court last month against Paste Media, according to public records obtained by ADWEEK.

The lawsuit alleges that Paste Media breached the contract the two parties signed last year when Paste Media acquired the titles Jezebel and Splinter from G/O Media in November 2023.

The suit is a debt or breach of contract case, which a party can file when another party fails to pay for goods and services. G/O Media has hired Elizabeth Fenton, a partner at the law firm Ballard Spahr, to lead the suit. The judge is Kathleen Miller.

The complaint is under seal, and G/O Media declined to comment.

“G/O Media has brought an action against us, which is wholly without merit,” said Paste Media founder and editor in chief Josh Jackson. “We will be responding accordingly.”

The litigation marks a stark rupture in the two publishers’ relationship. 

Paste Media acquired Jezebel and Splinter in an all-cash deal after G/O Media announced that it was shutting down Jezebel. Splinter, which had been dormant under G/O Media ownership, was revived under Paste Media.

Jezebel, which was not profitable, had difficulty monetizing its inventory due to brand safety filters applied by advertisers. Paste Media planned to navigate the challenge by courting mission-aligned brands, introducing a paid offering, and reintroducing events.

The sale was part of a broader effort from G/O Media to offload its portfolio of web properties, as ADWEEK reported in January. 

Since March 2023, the digital media firm has sold Lifehacker, Jezebel, Splinter, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, The Takeout, and The Onion. Now, only five titles remain, including Quartz, The Root, Jalopnik, Kotaku, and The Inventory.

The lawsuit is the second legal action G/O Media is currently involved in, as Deadspin is the defendant in a defamation case brought by the family of a child who a Deadspin reporter accused of blackface.