Reductress Sold to Meena Harris’ Phenomenal Media

Phenomenal Media, the media and marketing company founded by Meena Harris, is acquiring the online satirical website Reductress, the companies said on Wednesday.

Reductress, which satirizes sexist media coverage targeting women, was founded in 2013 by Beth Newell and Sarah Pappalardo. Best known for its comedic headlines paired with stock imagery, the site is edited by Pappalardo and has previously staffed writers who have gone on to write for Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and Full Frontal With Samantha Bee. The site, which has ventured into other mediums like events and podcasts, is also preparing to publish a book, How to Stay Productive While The World Is Ending, next May through the Simon & Schuster imprint Andrews McMeel.

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Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Though Phenomenal initially launched as a merchandise and clothing brand in 2017, the company has begun expanding its presence in media and entertainment. Last November, Phenomenal hired Juliet Liu, a former NBCUniversal executive, to oversee content and entertainment, and Regina Lee, a development executive at Mandy Moore’s Roll with the Punches Productions, to lead film and TV production. (Lee is no longer with the company.)

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter last November, Harris — who is Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece — said Phenomenal was making a concerted move into entertainment because it has “a loyal, engaged, built-in audience that is waiting for the next thing, and has come to be this amazing, vibrant community.”

In addition to launching a book club, Phenomenal’s past partnerships have included a clothing line with Hill House for Netflix’s Bridgerton and an event for Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty.

August 10, 6:16 p.m. PT: Updated to reflect that Regina Lee is no longer at Phenomenal.

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