Cody Kolodziejzyk, the commentary YouTuber better known as Cody Ko, will be stepping away from day-to-day operations at TMG Studios, the podcast network he co-founded, following allegations that he had sex with an underaged influencer when he was 25.
The news was announced in a post to paid subscribers of the podcast network on Friday evening. The six shows currently under the network’s umbrella have not posted new episodes in the past week as scheduled.
In June, influencer Tana Mongeau, 26, alleged that Kolodziejzyk, 33, had sex with her when she was underage. Kolodziejzyk has not made a statement addressing the allegations, but he has faced mounting backlash in recent weeks. He has lost around 250,000 subscribers in the last 30 days, according to the social media analytics website Social Blade.
Representatives for Kolodziejzyk did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The content of the departure post was initially sent as an email to TMG Studios employees on Friday morning. The post, which NBC News reviewed, is behind a paywall for TMG Studios subscribers.
“As we enter into this next phase of the studio, we wanted to let you know that Cody will not be involved in the day-to-day operations at TMG Studios,” the post said. “What has transpired over the past few weeks is a personal issue for him, and Cody wants to remove any effect this is having on your professional and personal lives and the work you and our other hosts have done to make TMG Studios so successful.”
The post also stated that co-founder Noel Miller, Kolodziejzyk’s longtime creative and business partner, would continue to lead the network. The shows will resume “in the coming weeks,” according to the post. Under TMG Studios, Kolodziejzyk co-hosts the “Tiny Meat Gang Podcast” with Miller. He also has his own show called “Insanely Chill.”
The news comes nearly a week after podcasters Drew Phillips and Enya Umanzor, whose show “Emergency Intercom” was acquired by TMG Studios in May, announced they would be leaving the network amid the criticism toward Kolodziejzyk. In a July 19 Instagram post, they announced that the podcast would be “produced independently by us” moving forward but did not directly address the allegations against Kolodziejzyk.
Representatives for Phillips and Umanzor did not respond to a request for comment.
Kolodziejzyk, 33, rose to prominence in YouTube’s robust commentary space and has nearly 6 million subscribers on his main channel.
Mongeau addressed speculation about her experience with Kolodziejzyk in various podcasts published in June. The podcasts came after a clip of her saying she had sex with the YouTuber when she was 17 went viral that same month.
On a June 21 episode of her podcast “Cancelled,” Mongeau said that Kolodziejzyk was 25 when the incident happened. She described the encounter as a “crime.”
“To be 100% truthful, when I look back at the Cody situation, I definitely am like, why was he doing that?” Mongeau, who recently turned 26, said in the episode. “You know what I mean? And there were so many situations, there was a situation with [influencer] Gabbie Hanna at a [YouTuber convention] Playlist Live where she pulled him aside and told him like, ‘Yo, she’s 17.’ And we still went and hooked up.”
A representative for Mongeau declined to comment further when asked by NBC News. Representatives for Hanna did not respond to a request for comment.
Mongeau went on to say she “doesn’t associate or hold it with trauma” because “so many worse things have happened” to her.
Mongeau also went on Trisha Paytas’ podcast “Just Trish” and said that she had seen comments trying to discredit her because of her reputation as a controversial personality.
“When they’re not a well-liked person, [audiences] are so down to get on that bandwagon and be like ‘f— them,’ but if you’re saying something s—– happened with a well-liked person, it’s crazy the way it can be perceived,” she said on the “Just Trish” podcast.
Mongeau previously alluded to having sex with Kolodziejzyk when she was a teenager. Mongeau had mentioned “hooking up” with various people including Kolodziejzyk when she was 17 or 18 years old in a December 2021 episode of “Cancelled.”
After weeks of silence from the broader commentary community on YouTube, the floodgates seemingly opened after creator D’Angelo Wallace, who has over 1.6 million subscribers and creates in-depth videos on online controversies, called out Kolodziejzyk in a video posted on July 14.
After the release of Wallace’s video, several prominent creators — including commentary YouTuber Jarvis Johnson and TikTok star Brittany Broski — shared statements condemning the alleged act.
Johnson, a fellow commentary YouTuber, shared a statement on July 15 urging Kolodziejzyk to respond to Mongeau’s allegations.
“It’s absolutely necessary for us to listen to victims period,” Johnson said in the statement. “Platform or not, and regardless of personal feelings towards them, we must treat claims like this seriously.”
Broski, the prominent TikTok star whose real name is Brittany Tomlinson, also shared a statement about the issue on her Instagram Stories on July 15. Tomlinson and Kolodziejzyk have collaborated on various podcast episodes and YouTube videos.
“I’m crushed to learn about the Cody allegations,” Tomlinson wrote. “If it’s proven to be true then that’s extremely upsetting as a collaborator and longtime fan. I find all of this disturbing, inappropriate and just flat out disgusting.”
TMG Studios was founded in 2021 and includes the “Tiny Meat Gang Podcast,” “Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast,” “Obsessed with Brooke Averick,” “The Zach and Wahlid Show,” “Company Lot,” and “Insanely Chill.”
