Whites cry bias
Producer suit: Power 105.1 favors blacks
WHITE PEOPLE are not welcome behind the scenes of a televised broadcast of Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club,” a new lawsuit charges.
Five white men who produced broadcasts of the popular morning show for Revolt TV, which is owned by Sean (Diddy) Combs, allege in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that they were victims of reverse racism.
Todd Baker, Douglas Goodstein, Richard Wilson, Michael Schiff and Jason Preziosi charge they were ostracized and mocked by execs after being hired in January 2014 because they didn’t get “the culture.”
“Revolt treated them worse than other employees who were younger and African-American,” the suit reads.
The crew of men who are 39 years old or older allege they were not treated the same as black employees despite their experience having produced years of TV episodes of “The Howard Stern Show.”
Val Boreland, Revolt’s executive vice president, “was always rude, condescending and dismissive” to the production team led by Goodstein, according to papers.
The team with as much as eight years of experience on Howard Stern’s outrageous radio show said they struggled with the lack of professionalism on “The Breakfast Club.”
One black production assistant frequently “came to work late, drunk, and slept on the editing room floor during work hours” — but was not punished, papers claim.
Goodstein’s team also clashed with Revolt execs over how to handle on-air guests showing up late to the radio show broadcast on one of New York’s most popular hip-hop and R&B stations.
“Whereas the show’s on-air personalities tolerated lateness, the production team was used to producing shows where such a lack of punctuality was either less tolerated or not permitted whatsoever,” the papers read.
During a discussion about the guests’ lack of punctuality, Baker was told he just “did not understand the culture,” according to papers.
The team also felt “uncomfortable” when they overheard conversations between the assistant director of “The Breakfast Club,” Anthony Boreland, and the show’s guests about the differences between African-Americans and whites, according to papers.
“The animosity Mr. Boreland had toward Caucasians was clear,” the men allege. The production team argues their responsibilities did not require they have a firm grasp of black culture, anyway.
In December 2014, Revolt fired the team and replaced them with inexperienced black employees, according to the suit.
“The true reason that Revolt terminated the production team was because they were Caucasian and much older than their replacements,” the lawsuit reads.
The team seeks damages to be determined at trial.
The suit does not name Power 105.1 or “The Breakfast Club” as defendants.
“These claims are without merit and have previously been dismissed by the (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Revolt Media and TV, LLC has always been committed to diversity in the workplace and is an equal opportunity employer,” Revolt said in a statement.