Interview magazine, through its spokesperson, adamantly denied a posting on Gawker Thursday afternoon, whereby editor-in-chief Ingrid Sischy was rumored to have left the publication on Wednesday. “Ingrid is on her annual holiday with Elton John in Africa,” the magazine rep told Fashion Week Daily. “She’s been unfortunately working from there this week and will be back in the office on Monday. We have no idea where this came from.”

The rumor of Sischy’s leaving spread like wildfire, resulting in a flood of phone calls to KCD, which represents the magazine, and at parent company Brant Publications Inc. in SoHo, where, according to sources, employees across the board were both shocked and surprised by the Gawker posting. [For the record, Gawker placed a second posting at 4:32 p.m. retracting their earlier statement]

Interview is published by Brant Publications, which also puts out Art in America and The Magazine Antiques, as well as special-interest books. The publishing house, which acquired Interview from the estate of Andy Warhol in May 1989 for about $10 million, is owned equally by Sandra Brant, president and chief executive officer (who is also Interview’s publisher), and her former husband Peter Brant, who is both chairman and a silent partner. At the time of the acquisition, Henry Ansbacher Inc., a media investment banking firm, handled the sale of the pop culture title, which had never been profitable until the Brants came on board.

But while it’s public knowledge that the duo retained the services of investment bank Allen & Co. in 2006 to explore strategic alternatives to help refinance the magazines in their quest to expand—though nothing has come of it yet—according to sources familiar with the situation, a departure by Sischy, either now or further down the line, would not be at all surprising.

“They’re overhauling Interview and getting ready for something newer and fresher,” said the well-placed source.
JIM SHI