Plaintiff Liang Wang, formerly the principal oboist for the New York Philharmonic, sued freelance reporter Sammy Sussman; Sussman's publisher, New York Media; and New York Media's parent company, Vox Media, for defamation, seeking $100 million in damages.

In April 2024, Vulture, a platform of New York magazine, published an article by Sussman, “A Hidden Sexual-Assault Scandal at the New York Philharmonic: Two musicians were fired for sexual misconduct. Why are they back with the orchestra?”, that centers on a 2010 incident involving Wang and fellow orchestra membersMatthew Muckey and Cara Kizer. According to the article, Kizer claims that Muckey sexually assaulted her after Wang gave her a glass of wine laced with GHB.