Why Angelica Nwandu Turned Down $100M for The Shade Room

The Shade Room founder Angelica Nwandu says she turned down multiple offers worth more than $100 million to sell the company, revealing that the bids often arrived during major election years.

During a recent appearance on the On Par with Maury Povich podcast, Nwandu explained that she chose to keep control of the media platform rather than risk outside owners reshaping it for political purposes.

According to Nwandu, many of the offers surfaced in 2020 and 2024, when political organizations and investors were increasingly focused on reaching Black voters online. Because The Shade Room commands one of the largest Black audiences on social media, she said potential buyers saw the platform as a powerful way to influence public opinion during election season.

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“A lot of times when the offers would come, it would be during an election year,” Nwandu said.

When asked by Maury Povich whether buyers wanted to steer the outlet for partisan reasons, she replied, “Exactly.”

Nwandu launched The Shade Room in 2014 after losing her job as an accountant. What began as an Instagram page built from her apartment has since become one of the most influential media brands in entertainment and culture.

The platform now reaches more than 28 million followers, known as “Roommates,” and has been described by The New York Times as the “TMZ of Instagram.” Over the years, it has broken major celebrity stories and expanded into politics, community news, and trending culture.

Nwandu said the decision to reject the offers came down to protecting the audience she built. “It’s because of the community that we have and that we serve,” she said. “I really love them, and I’m really protective over where they will go.”

She added that a sale could have dramatically changed the company’s tone and purpose. “If somebody bought it out, they would change it up completely,” Nwandu said.

The entrepreneur also revealed that political groups were not the only interested buyers. Some of the inquiries came from entertainers and public figures who had previously been covered by The Shade Room and wanted to acquire the platform with outside investors.

Nwandu said that raised concerns about editorial independence and the possibility that ownership could influence which stories were covered and how they were presented.

She ultimately decided that remaining independent was the better move for the company and its audience.