NEW YORK, June 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Caroline Wanga, the CEO of Essence Ventures from June 2020 until she resigned in March 2025, filed a defamation claim this week against Essence Ventures ("EV") (which manages ESSENCE Communications, Inc., AFROPUNK, BeautyCon, and Essence Studios) and its parent company, Sundial Media & Technology Group, in New York State Court. The alleged defamation stemmed from EV and Sundial leadership failing to publicly announce that Ms. Wanga had no role in the planning or execution of the disastrous annual Essence Festival of Culture which commenced on July 4, 2025, in New Orleans. Ms. Wanga is represented by Lead Counsel Larry Schaefer at Schaefer Halleen, LLC, a Minneapolis-based Firm recognized nationally for its expertise in this field.

View the Complaint Here

According to the Complaint (INDEX NO. 157356/2026), EV and Sundial leadership did nothing to correct the devastating public narrative that Ms. Wanga was directly involved in this festival, despite her and her supporters' repeated requests to publicly announce that Ms. Wanga had no role whatsoever in the planning or execution of this festival. The public critique of this festival was largely directed at Ms. Wanga. She was attacked as directly responsible for the "Pan-African" focus of this festival and the choice of Ms. Wanga's former employer, Target Corporation, as a corporate sponsor of the festival. These decisions were publicly lambasted as shifting EV away from its long-standing focus on African-American culture, and selecting a corporate sponsor which had been publicly viewed as retreated from DEI initiatives.

According to the Complaint, Ms. Wanga had been on leave from her position as Essence Ventures CEO since September 2024, and had made the decision to leave this position effective March 31, 2025. EV and Sundial leadership asked Ms. Wanga to delay any public announcement of her departure until after the festival, and she and her legal counsel agreed. It therefore appeared to the public that she was the CEO when the festival took place on July 4, 2025. 

The Complaint describes the public outcry and the blaming of Ms. Wanga in the weeks following the festival, which included numerous personal threats against Ms. Wanga and her family. Ms. Wanga and her counsel repeatedly asked EV and Sundial leadership to promptly correct this devastating public narrative, requesting that Richelieu Dennis, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Sundial Media & Technology Group, and Kirk McDonald, CEO of Sundial Media & Technology Group, to issue this public statement in order to "correct the record and stop the blaming and backlash against Ms. Wanga." 

The Complaint describes how the leadership refused to issue this statement, and instead delayed any announcement while the public outcry against Ms. Wanga built. EV finally issued a general announcement of Ms. Wanga's departure as CEO on August 25, 2025, almost two months after the disastrous festival. This statement did not specifically correct the widely-held view that Ms. Wanga had made or influenced the decisions which negatively impacted the festival and the ESSENCE brand. Ms. Wanga's complaint alleges that EV's statement thus appeared to condone this false narrative. 

"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," explains Mr. Schaefer. "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."

CONTACT:

Lawrence P. Schaefer
Schaefer Halleen, LLC
(612) 294-2601 (direct)
(612) 816-5388 (cell)
lschaefer@schaeferhalleen.com

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SOURCE Schaefer Halleen, LLC