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It’s rare that the founder of a news publication becomes the center of a news story itself, however that was exactly the case for Harvey Levin, the creator of infamous celebrity tabloid TMZ.
Levin — who founded the publication in 2005 — has overseen some of the biggest celebrity news stories of the last two decades (with a particular focus on Lindsay Lohan), so it might’ve been surprising when it was his name appearing in the headlines instead.
While, as of 2024, Levin has grabbed headlines for his takes on the Kate Middleton saga and for his recently released interview special with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, perhaps his most newsworthy moment arrived in 2020. That year, Levin was forced to skip an episode of the TMZ on TV show he regularly hosts due to an accident, but what exactly happened?
What happened to Harvey Levin?
In June 2020, it was reported that Harvey Levin was involved in a bicycle accident in Los Angeles. Addressing the situation during an episode of TMZ on TV — the syndicated news and gossip show Levin has presented since 2005 — Charles Latibeaudiere described his co-host’s accident as “pretty bad.” At the time, Latibeaudiere said Levin’s absence from the episode was to allow Levin “a little bit of time to heal.”
Details around the extent of the TMZ founder’s injuries were not revealed at the time, though Latibeaudiere said Levin was wearing a helmet when the accident occurred. Shortly after, Levin’s representatives told multiple outlets that Levin would “return soon,” and the host was back to regular programming in the following episode. It wasn’t the first time Levin grabbed news coverage for an accident, with his own name appearing on TMZ following a car crash in 2013.
“I was in a horrible car accident last night and nobody came to pick me up,” Levin revealed during an episode of TMZ on TV. Levin claimed that the accident, which occurred while he was driving his Porsche, was the result of a garbage truck making an illegal turn, causing it to “careen into me.”
TMZ celebrated its 18th anniversary in Nov. 2023, and has in recent years attracted criticism for its coverage of Kobe Bryant’s death and Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against actress and ex-wife, Amber Heard. In any case, Levin himself has largely stayed out of the spotlight, though the intensity of tabloids like TMZ means it’s only a matter of time before he grabs headlines again.