Vox Reportedly Decided To End Deal With Taylor Lorenz

Dox queen Taylor Lorenz spent much of Monday afternoon disputing a report from Semafor that Vox Media decided not to renew a contract to distribute her podcast.

"This is 100% false and I’m very much still working with Vox, and my show is not up for ‘renewal’ because I actually own 100% of the show and control the distribution, not Vox. Media reporters continue to lie about me! Tune into the pod this week where I’ll discuss :)," she wrote on X.

She then reposted her response under several posts discussing the report:

Vox has not commented on the report. However, Semafor doubled down on its reporting via a spokesperson Monday afternoon, saying: "As Max Tani accurately reported, Vox is ending its relationship with Taylor Lorenz in 2025. You can read that story here."

The New York Post has since corroborated the report. "Vox Media is ending its deal to distribute former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz’s podcast and YouTube … a source close to the situation confirmed," reported Post columnist Alexandra Steigrad.

There's a lot going on here. Let's take it step by step:

First, Lorenz claims Vox doesn't get to decide whether it will "renew" her contract because she "owns" the podcast. That makes no sense.  A "renewal" doesn't indicate that the provider owns the show. Joe Rogan also owns his podcast. Spotify "renewed" Rogan last year to continue distributing his show through a licensing deal.

Taylor Lorenz is either trying to be sneaky or is unaware of how the contract he signed works. Honestly, it could be either.

Second, Semafor claims Vox decided to move on from Lorenz before last week when she appeared to celebrate the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the social media app Bluesky. On Monday, Lorenz followed up her celebration by sharing a post calling the suspect of Thompson's murder a "hero."

Third, so, the timing of the report was just a coincidence?

No. 

Allow us to pull back the curtain:

A source leaked the news to Semafor over the weekend and to the New York Post on Monday. Why would someone do that? For the same reason someone leaks any story: to benefit them.

Who benefits from the news that Vox is dropping Lorenz?  Vox does.

Taylor Lorenz's podcast averages only six thousand views on YouTube. She's a deranged. Seriously – she's off her rocker. There were reasons not to renew her contract even before she cheered on the murder of a father of two. However, that doesn't mean her remarks didn't lead to the timing of the leak. 

Lorenz's celebration of Thompson's death surely embarrassed Vox. How could it not have? Had Vox kept the news private for another month, pressure would have mounted for the company to answer Lorenz's behavior – which now involves encouraging listeners to call and threaten other executives with death,  

This way, Vox is in the clear. Put simply, Lorenz's most recent trip off the deep caused Vox to leak the news before Lorenz wanted. Thus, her denial.

See, Taylor likely planned to have a new distribution plan for her podcast in place before Vox announced her departure. That way, she could have negotiated with other providers under the impression they'd need to outbid Vox to sign her. 

That is no longer the case. Now, other suitors know she was canned and desperately needs a new home for her show.

As the saying goes, it's a lot easier to negotiate a new job when you have a job…  

See how that works?