Gay Miami News Anchor Fired After Filing Discrimination Complaint
Less than a week after filing a complaint alleging that he'd been demoted for "acting too gay," Miami ABC newsman Charles Perez has been fired.
The drama all began in June, when Perez was "demoted" from the local ABC nightly evening newscast to the weekend edition -- and Perez claims it was because the station felt he was "becoming too gay" for the public to handle. Perez decided to file a complaint with the Miami-Dade County Equal Opportunity Board, in which he details a performance review, where one of his bosses warned him that he smiled on air too much and that he and his female co-anchor were "like girlfriends while on the set." Perez believes he was fired in retaliation for filing the complaint with the EOB. The station claims Perez's recent "actions" left then "no real choice" but to fire him. Here's the catch -- the boss who demoted him is himself gay and issued a statement saying, "As a gay man myself, I can safely say the station does not discriminate against gay people." The station also denies the allegation.Perez said he plans to file a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the station and its parent company, the Washington Post. According to Perez, the entire situation began when his ex-boyfriend forwarded his bosses a private email that wrongly implied Perez was interested in changing his gender.
UPDATE: Perez' ex, Dennis Pena, emailed the Miami Herald's Steve Rothaus to deny responsibility:
He got himself fired by his own actions, as the station stated. This situation gives me no pleasure. The whole thing is just so sad for everyone involved, mainly for Charles himself. I just wish he had ears for wise advice. I wish him well.
Truly,
Dennis Pena.
Labels: "celibacy", ABC, Charles Perez, Miami, television