Miami ABC Anchor Charles Perez: I Was Demoted For Acting Too Gay

Miami news anchor Charles Perez has filed a sexual orientation discrimination complaint against his ABC employers, claiming he was demoted for acting "too gay." A personal email forwarded to Perez' bosses by his former boyfriend may have started it all.

Perez, 46, claims station bosses demoted him to weekend anchor/reporter ``because of their discomfort over the increasingly high profile of my sexual orientation,'' reads the complaint. The filing summary details Perez's quick descent at Channel 10, which began weeks after a March 3 performance review, when Perez says that WPLG News Director Bill Pohovey told him he was "too anchor-like and too `Brian Williams' in my delivery.''

On March 16, a private e-mail from Perez written to a family therapist was forwarded to everyone in the reporter's online address book. The e-mail said Perez told the therapist he needed to work through his "gender identity issues.'' Three days later, Pohovey called Perez into his office for a "new'' performance review, this time saying Perez came across "too soft,'' didn't sound "main anchor-like'' and smiled too much with co-anchor Laurie Jennings. "Like girlfriends.'' On April 3, Perez went to court seeking a restraining order against his former partner, Dennis Ricardo Peña, whom he accused of leaking the private e-mail. Later that month, Perez claims he ``began to disappear'' from station promotional spots. He lost the weeknight anchor seat July 22.

Perez' boss: "This is an outrageous accusation. As a gay man myself, I can safely say the station does not discriminate against gay people. Charles' claim that the station discriminates against gay people is untrue and offensive.''