Wachtell Partner Nathaniel Cullerton Suspended After Viral Central Park Kiss Video
A TikTok video filmed by creator Jay Guapo captured 45‑year‑old Wachtell Lipton partner Nathaniel Cullerton kissing 29‑year‑old colleague Kelsey Borenzweig on a bench in New York’s Central Park. The clip quickly amassed millions of views and was identified by internet sleuths as the two lawyers.
Wachtell Lipton placed Cullerton on leave while it conducts an internal investigation. A pending lateral move to rival firm Gibson Dunn was reportedly cancelled after the video went public, costing Cullerton a multi‑million‑dollar opportunity. Reports state that Cullerton earns at least $4 million a year as a junior partner. Both attorneys were members of the legal team that successfully defended OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk. Cullerton has been married to Moira Penza since 2016. The status of any disciplinary action against Borenzweig has not been disclosed.
The scandal has drawn extensive media coverage in the United States and internationally, highlighting the professional and financial repercussions of the viral incident.
Entities: Gibson Dunn · Jay Guapo · Kelsey Borenzweig · Nathaniel Cullerton · OpenAI · Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz · Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] No official disciplinary action against Borenzweig has been reported. (Financial Times, other reports)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Wachtell Lipton placed Cullerton on leave pending an internal investigation. (Financial Times, New York Post)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Cullerton and Borenzweig were members of the legal team that defended OpenAI and Sam Altman in a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk. (Financial Times, Daily Mail, New York Post)
- [● 5 SOURCES] The video was posted by TikTok creator Jay Guapo and quickly went viral, receiving millions of views. (All articles referencing the TikTok clip)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Gibson Dunn withdrew a pending job offer to Cullerton after the video went public. (Financial Times, LADbible, other reports)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Nathaniel Cullerton, a 45-year-old partner at Wachtell Lipton, was filmed kissing Kelsey Borenzweig on a bench in Central Park. (Financial Times, Daily Mail, New York Post, LADbible, other reports)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Cullerton earns at least $4 million annually as a junior partner at Wachtell Lipton. (Financial Times, New York Post)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Cullerton has been married to Moira Penza since 2016. (Daily Mail, New York Post)