CNN employee says superior threatened to “kill” him over discrimination lawsuit

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtal...iscrimination-lawsuit/dX9dyvzR8LadiDcSLTYOGL/

This is from the AJC and there are allegations of racial discrimination at the outlet. Also questions on how AT&T's WarnerMedia will resolve issues of alleged racial misconduct is yet to be seen.

DeWayne Walker, an Atlanta-based employee at CNN for 16 years, said he was verbally threatened with his life by a superior because of a race discrimination lawsuit he filed earlier this year. Walker, in a new lawsuit filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Walker said he ran into his boss Whit Friese, vice president and group creative director, in a restroom on August 15, 2019 at CNN Center. The lawsuit then described this alleged verbal encounter:Friese told Walker, “Just drop it.” Friese was supposedly referencing the lawsuit Walker filed in May. Walker: “Or?” Friese approached Mr. Walker at the urinal and quietly said: “If you f***with my money, I will kill you.” Five days after the encounter, Walker informed CNN human resources of the incident and met with the HR manager August 21, the lawsuit stated. Walker was placed on administrative leave with pay the next day.

In November, Walker filed a new complaint, noting that Friese was not apparently punished for his verbal comment. “It’s a travesty and a sham,” said Walker’s attorney Mario Williams of Williams Oinonen LLC. “You’re using an administrative process to punish a person who made the complaint. The next best thing to firing someone is keeping him out of the office on administrative leave with pay even though he’s the victim.” Walker, who is manager of integrated marketing for CNN, remains on leave with pay after more than three months. A court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11 and Williams will attempt to get Walker reinstated to his job.Barbara Levin, a CNN vice president for communications, responded on Thursday with the following statement:“It is not our practice to comment on legal or personnel matters, but these outrageous and damaging claims merit a response. The accusations by Mr. Walker are entirely false, both with regards to his personal career development and the slanderous allegation against a co-worker that never happened. They are the latest in more than five years of claims that have been consistently rejected by the courts and the EEOC. We will vigorously defend this suit in court.”Walker has filed multiple lawsuits against his employer for racial discrimination, saying he was not being promoted to higher-level positions because of his race.He first filed a complaint to the EEOC in early 2014 and a federal lawsuit in December, 2015. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in early 2018, noting that he wasn’t qualified for seven of the nine positions he claimed he should have been considered for. He didn’t apply to an eighth and the judge saw no evidence of discrimination regarding the ninth.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://nypost.com/2019/12/05/cnn-e...ened-to-kill-him-over-discrimination-lawsuit/

CNN reps, meanwhile, characterized Walker’s claims as “outrageous and damaging” in a statement to The Post early Thursday.

“The accusations by Mr. Walker are entirely false, both with regards to his personal career development and the slanderous allegation against a co-worker that never happened,” a CNN spokesperson said. “They are the latest in more than five years of claims that have been consistently rejected by the courts and the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]. We will vigorously defend this suit in court.”

Walker, who first filed an EEOC complaint in 2014, has filed several lawsuits against the network alleging he wasn’t promoted due to his race. But a federal judge dismissed Walker’s filing in late 2015, ruling that he wasn’t qualified for seven of the nine positions for which he applied, the newspaper reports.

In all, Walker claims he has “never been contacted for a vast majority” of the 28 jobs he has sought at CNN, according to his May filing.

There’s also a pattern of “systemic discrimination” against African Americans, especially men, at CNN, where any minorities who complain are placed on a list called “BOLO,” or “Be On the Lookout For,” Walker’s latest filing claims.

Here is more and there was past allegations of racial misconduct at Warner Media specifically at CNN.

https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtal...l-discrimination-case/XfcBcDIi9oHmATwGBR5uaP/

https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtal...racial-discrimination/rHjbJyS2bqJH65XJ3YReAP/

https://deadline.com/2017/07/cnn-lawsuit-dismissed-racial-discrimination-tbs-time-warner-1202136242/

Also TBS was another AT&T owned outlet that was named in the area where racial misconduct was reported in the past.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtal...aying-was-fabrication/zyh3G2auzMKmptWh5nWeSL/

Now an Update

CNN terminated Atlanta-based employee Dewayne Walker after deciding his story that his boss threatened him with his life was a fabrication. Walker, who had worked at the news operation for 16 years, had filed multiple lawsuits over the years against his employer claiming racial discrimination. All except the most recent lawsuits have been dismissed.Last month, Walker - in his latest racial discrimination lawsuit against CNN - accused a superior Whit Friese of threatening him in a restroom, saying: “If you f*** with my money, I’ll kill you.”

Friese is CNN vice president of creative marketing. Walker was senior manager for integrated promotions within the creative marketing department. The incident allegedly occurred in August and Walker was placed on administrative leave with pay while CNN investigated the veracity of his claims. In a December 6 defense filing in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (case no: 1:19-cv-05194), CNN said it made this move for Walker’s safety. The company also noted that Friese was not actually Walker’s direct supervisor although their offices “were in close proximity to each other.”