After months of rumors about the Deadline.com creator’s efforts to abandon Penske Media, Nikki Finke finally confirmed on Twitter today that she is leaving to start her own site. “I am building out NikkiFinke.com and will unveil it right after the new year. Can’t wait to report the real truth about Hollywood,” Finke said, adding, “All that’s left is for the lawyers to disentangle me from Penske. I have no idea why he has fought so hard to keep me. I’ll be free soon.” CEO Jay Penske should probably hide any gossip-worthy secrets he doesn’t want immediately blogged about come January.
Update: Finke told BuzzFeed an unnamed company has offered her more than $5 million to start NikkiFinke.com. “All I have to do is start writing,” she said. As for Penske, “I’m grateful to him for all the money he’s paid me.” She added, “I’m grateful for all his help in building out Deadline Hollywood. But now too much has happened between us. And it’s time for us to say goodbye.”
