Launched by Angie Nwandu She launched The Shade Room as a side hustle in 2014, and it has since grown from an Instagram-only celebrity tabloid into a 40-person media company that now reaches 29 million social media addicts by tapping into their drama-loving appetites.
The Shade Room was a pioneer of a unique and innovative digital media movement that combined elements of fan culture around the celebrity news machine.Shade Room More than a run-of-the-mill gossip magazine or news aggregator, TSR has evolved into an information hub on “culture.” “It’s a reflection of culture and a voice of culture. We’re known as the megaphone,” says Nwandu.
The platform’s main focus is the vulnerable world of black celebrities. Want to know who NFL quarterback Jalen Hurts is? Engaged Or Naomi Campbell Feud with RihannaWhy are women in Louisville Claims Kanye West allegedly told his girlfriend “via wire” to steal a car with a child inside? TSR has you covered.
I recently called Nwandu to talk about The Shade Room’s controversial influence and the legacy she wants to leave behind. The platform has slowly been branching out into different reporting areas, including politics, investigative journalism and spirituality, and she says it’s all part of a bigger plan to move beyond celebrity gossip, which she describes as ultimately “exhausting.”
Nwandu isn’t there yet: The same week we spoke, music mogul Diddy was indicted by a grand jury and arrested on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy (to which he pleaded not guilty), so we spoke about that, and Nwandu has nothing to hide.
Jason Parham: The Shade Room pioneered social media-centric celebrity news on Instagram. Now there are hundreds of accounts doing the same thing as you. How does that feel?
Angie Nwandu: Nobody bought into The Shade Room, but we provided a blueprint that could be replicated. I’m friends with Sean Mackenzie. [founder of The Spiritual Word] Jason Lee [founder of Hollywood Unlocked]and we had a conversation. I spoke with both of them and shared tips and advice. I’m happy that our blueprint has been able to inspire other Black media companies that are thriving in their own right. It’s amazing to me to see the success of all these platforms. I’m actually very proud of it, because who wouldn’t want to start something that creates a ripple effect?
The Shade Room has never shied away from controversy, but I imagine there are editorial guidelines you follow: What won’t you post?
As for which articles, that defeats the purpose now. What we don’t do is doxx people. A lot of people send us very lewd articles that doxx people. We avoid that kind of thing. It was a bit extreme at first, but we generally avoid it. We’ve seen how damaging it can be to people who are not ready to come out in that way. We’ve tried to avoid invasion of privacy in certain areas.
But maybe there’s a reason this room is called “The Shade Room”?
We are trying to change our posts to be more positive. Counterattack I’ve been posting all day so I’m kind of calming down. It’s been hard because our name is “The Shade Room” and if Diddy goes to jail, we’re gonna have to post. But there’s a lot of stuff we don’t post. It’s been like a dance, for sure.
