Media

Former In Touch editor Lee lands at Nylon

Michelle Lee, the one-time top editor of In Touch who introduced the world to the sexy tattoo artist who busted up Sandra Bullock’s marriage, has landed as the new editor-in-chief of Nylon.

Ashley Baker, the former executive editor, turned down the top job after Nylon’s new owners bounced co-founders Marvin and Jaclynn Jarrett.

After launching Nylon in 1999, the duo sold it to a group headed by Philadelphia businessman Donald Hellinger. The avant garde fashion title gained a fast following, but was plagued by money problems and shady management. Hellinger, the longtime president of the magazine, pleaded guilty last year to money laundering and operating an illegal gambling business.

Hellinger’s Twitter account still lists him as the chairman of tattoo magazines Inked and Inked Girls, published by his Quadra Media. Their offices said Hellinger is still away in the big house.

Nylon is now controlled by Diversis Capital and Backbone Capital Advisors, which purchased it last month from the ownership group headed by Hellinger.

New CEO Marc Luzzatto, who is also chairman of Diversis, has pledged a seven-figure investment to aid a digital and international push.

Lee said she plans to start adding more writers and beefing up features when she starts her new gig next week.

“The basic DNA has always been style and culture, and I don’t want to change that,” she said. “But I feel Nylon can be a little edgier and a little flashier.”

In addition to Nylon, she will also be responsible for Nylon Guys and their accompanying websites.

A veteran magazine hand, Lee has worked on the launches of Us Weekly, Cosmo Girl and Glamour.

Most recently, she was chief content and strategy officer for Magnified Media. She was also the editorial director for celebrity website Hollywood.com.

She was the interim editor of In Touch when she scored the bombshell interview with Michelle “Bombshell” McGee, who boasted of an 11-month affair with Bullock’s then-husband, Jesse James, while Bullock was filming “The Blind Side,” which landed her an Oscar.

News of the affair blindsided Bullock, who divorced James.

Lee left In Touch in January 2012 for the digital world.

Publisher and chief revenue officer Dana Fields said she interviewed a lot of people for the editor-in-chief job before picking Lee.

“Nylon is not 100 percent fashion, it’s fashion and pop culture,” Fields said. “We think it is an under-marketed brand that can grow internationally and digitally.”