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Police investigating after New Orleans radio host claims employer posted homophobic tweet, station says he wrote it himself | Police investigating after New Orleans radio host claims employer posted homophobic tweet, station says he wrote it himself |
(about 5 hours later) | |
A New Orleans radio station accused of tweeting a homophobic remark about one of its hosts has alleged that the presenter penned the post himself, hoping to force the station to cough up some $2 million to cover his debts. | |
Earlier this month, WWL Radio’s Seth Dunlap, an openly gay sports broadcaster, said the radio station attacked him with a homophobic slur from its official Twitter handle, viewable to the station’s more than 30,000 followers. | Earlier this month, WWL Radio’s Seth Dunlap, an openly gay sports broadcaster, said the radio station attacked him with a homophobic slur from its official Twitter handle, viewable to the station’s more than 30,000 followers. |
Vowing to go “scorched earth” in his response to the tweet, Dunlap threatened to sue his employer for some $1.8 million, claiming a hostile work environment – but now the station says it has evidence the host posted the offending tweet from his own smartphone, according to a New Orleans Police Department report. | Vowing to go “scorched earth” in his response to the tweet, Dunlap threatened to sue his employer for some $1.8 million, claiming a hostile work environment – but now the station says it has evidence the host posted the offending tweet from his own smartphone, according to a New Orleans Police Department report. |
WWL’s parent company, Entercom, provided the results of an internal probe to police on Thursday, which authorities are now investigating, the report says. | |
The radio station also alleges it had received a number of letters “regarding wage garnishment” in recent months linked to Dunlap’s personal debts, positing that the host was hurting for money. | |
“Apparently, Mr Dunlap has a variety of unpaid credit cards and personal loans, and the companies holding the debt are going into collections for the unpaid amount,” WWL said. | |
Dunlap insists he did not send the tweet, arguing that he was not one of the 14 WWL employees with access to the station’s Twitter account – even taking and reportedly passing a polygraph test on Wednesday – but the company says it hired a “digital forensic expert” who identified Dunlap as the author of the post. | |
After seeing the police report issued on Thursday, Dunlap’s attorney, Megan Kiefer, slammed WWL for “false, defamatory and self-serving statements,” but added that her client was happy the police were now involved in the matter. | |
Though police have yet to corroborate the claims of WLL or Entercom, the report indicated that investigators were considering possible extortion in the case, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison. | |
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