Entercom's Seth Dunlap (WWL Radio) under investigation for Homophobic tweet

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://news.****************/articles/n37567/Report-WWL-NO-Claims-Dunlap-Sent-Homophobic-Tweet

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nf...extortion-plot-which-dunlap-denies/ar-AAHWIxd


https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_822c6b1a-e06e-11e9-bcb8-13e8fb604dc4.html

Some of the details reminds me of the Jussie Smolette scandal where both Fox (Broadcast Contract holder) and Disney (Owners of Empire TV show) had to decide to either end their show contractor just fire Smolette.

But in the details its the debt issue that Entercom is reporting on Dunlap though.

WWL Radio officials believe the homophobic slur tweeted from the station’s official account to talk show host Seth Dunlap earlier this month was sent from Dunlap’s personal cellphone, according to a New Orleans Police Department report.

The station also has accused Dunlap, who is 35 and openly gay, of threatening the station that he would go “scorched earth” over the tweet and demanding more than $1.8 million in compensation while he was facing personal financial troubles, said the police report, which was obtained Thursday through a public records request.

The police report, which summarizes allegations leveled by WWL Senior Vice President Kevin Cassidy and attorneys for the station’s corporate parent, Pennsylvania-based Entercom, suggested law enforcement was still working to corroborate the station’s allegations.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/...weet/289-963a84ec-7489-446f-9be4-b8085a54675c

Apparently Entercom is alleging that Seth Dunlap was trying to extort money from WWL according to the police investigation.

NEW ORLEANS — WWL Radio and its parent company believe Seth Dunlap sent the homophobic tweet from the station’s Twitter account that disparaged the sports host. And they say Dunlap sent it in an attempt to extort close to $2 million from the company.

The information is in a police report obtained by The Times Picayune| New Orleans Advocate through a public records request.


The report, taken on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 5 p.m., details a complaint from WWL Radio and Entercom, its parent company, that alleges Dunlap had money problems, a possible motivation for the actions.

The report states that Kevin Cassidy, the senior vice-president and market manager for Entercom New Orleans, came to police with the extortion complaint.

WWL Radio claims that an investigation of the company’s internet system, software and hardware discovered that the tweet had been sent from an IP address associated with Dunlap’s cellphone. The company also said that it has been receiving letters recently regarding wage garnishment for personal debts Dunlap has.

Megan Kiefer, Dunlap's lawyer, said the report to the police does not include, "any documentary or supportive evidence other than Entercom's false, defamatory and self-serving statements."

Dunlap has been on a leave of absence since a tweet appeared on the WWL Radio Twitter account that referred to him using a homophobic slur. Dunlap hosted a weekly nighttime talk show on the radio station.

The police report also said that Michael Banks, a member of the Entercom legal team, said that the team met with Dunlap and his legal counsel on Sept. 12, two days after the Tweet. During the meeting, Banks said that Dunlap asked the legal team how much money they would pay him before he went “scorched earth” about the incident.

WWL Radio’s allegations say that surveillance video from security cameras in the building show that Dunlap was seen entering his office and closing the door right before the homophobic tweet was published.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/...weet/289-963a84ec-7489-446f-9be4-b8085a54675c

Here is another allegation that Entercom and Seth Dunlap has to deal with in the same report.

Kiefer said Wednesday that Dunlap intended to sue WWL Radio and Entercom about a “hostile” work environment. She said that Dunlap took a polygraph test to show that he was telling the truth about not sending the inflammatory tweet.

"The lie detector test that Mr. Dunlap voluntarily took and passed speaks for itself. Mr. Dunlap categorically denies he was responsible for this tweet and the lie detector results prove that, in addition to the fact that it is undisputed that he did not have access to the WWL Twitter account, nor did he have the password for same," said Kiefer's statement released Thursday.

The newspaper’s story said Kiefer confirmed the amount of money - $1.85 million – that Dunlap sought.

Here is the entire statement issued by Dunlap's attorney, Megan Kiefer, Thursday:

We are in receipt of the police report filed by Entercom, which we received from the media and which does not contain any documentary or supportive evidence other than Entercom’s false, defamatory, and self-serving statements. The lie detector test that Mr. Dunlap voluntarily took and passed speaks for itself. Mr. Dunlap categorically denies he was responsible for this tweet and the lie detector results prove that, in addition to the fact that it is undisputed that he did not have access to the WWL Twitter account, nor did he have the password for same. As of today, Entercom still has produced no documents to us or the public to substantiate their defamatory claims despite repeated requests for same. Incredibly, the last sentence of the police report states that they have even refused to produce documentation to the NOPD. It is truly reprehensible that they would be attempting to blame the victim of its own anti-LGBT culture, and they are only compounding the severe damage that Mr. Dunlap has experienced at the hands of Entercom. Further, Mr. Dunlap vehemently disputes the statements made by Entercom to the NOPD, which are littered with falsehoods. Mr. Dunlap has fully cooperated with Entercom in its investigation. Last week, Entercom approached Mr. Dunlap to discuss settlement, stating that they had cleared Mr. Dunlap as the source of the tweet. The meeting was attended by Entercom counsel and its corporate lawyers. On September 24, Entercom interviewed Mr. Dunlap for over an hour before unethically, improperly, and illegally accusing him of extortion in order to scare him into accepting little to no compensation for the company’s actions. Incredibly, only after those settlement discussions broke down did Entercom refer this matter to the NOPD, which speaks volumes relative to their intentions. Mr. Dunlap welcomes the NOPD investigation, and is thankful the investigation is finally in the hands of an independent agency.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.fox8live.com/2019/09/25...es-polygraph-test-regarding-homophobic-tweet/

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) -WWL radio host Seth Dunlap, who is on leave from the microphone, took and passed a polygraph test Wednesday, according to his attorney Megan Kiefer.

The test centered around a homophobic tweet that was sent from WWL Radio’s Twitter account on Sept, 10.

The tweet was taken down soon after it went out to thousands of followers.

Soon after the post, Dunlap announced he was taking a leave of absence from his nightly radio program. WWL Radio and its parent company, Entercom, are still investigating who might have sent the message.

Now apparently 14 Entercom staff members have submitted polygraph tests over the twitter rants along with Seth Dunlap.

It is our understanding that up to fourteen (14) Entercom employees have password access to WWL’s twitter account. Seth is not one of the employees that had any access whatsoever to the Twitter account at the time of the offense tweet. Of note, we have requested information about whether Entercom’s employees, including the fourteen employees who have password access to WWL’s twitter account, have submitted to voluntary or mandatory polygraph testing, and Entercom has refused to respond to that request."

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_4ef9a62c-e640-11e9-a02f-634a1a4a4df0.html

Now Seth Dunlaps Phone has been mentioned for the police investigation as New Orleans Police continues the investigation on Seth Dunlap, WWL Radio and Entercom New Orleans in the Seth Dunlap Scandal.

New Orleans police on Thursday obtained a search warrant seeking information from WWL Radio host Seth Dunlap’s cellphone, which is at the center of a high-stakes investigation involving allegations of extortion, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

The warrant seeks information from the service provider T-Mobile. It’s a move aimed at verifying claims made by WWL Radio and its parent company, Pennsylvania-based Entercom Communications, that a homophobic message aimed at Dunlap and sent from the radio station’s account was actually sent by Dunlap himself.

According to an NOPD report, WWL Radio made those claims after it hired a forensic specialist who examined the station’s “Internet system, software and hardware.”


The radio station has said Dunlap sent the tweet and then demanded nearly $2 million from the station, citing the insult and threatening workplace harassment-related litigation. Dunlap was facing significant personal financial strain, according to the station.

The station told the NOPD that the forensic investigation found an IP address — a unique number given to a piece of hardware, such as a cellphone — connected to the tweet that was associated with Dunlap’s phone.

Megan Kiefer, Dunlap’s attorney, has disputed the claims, saying the radio station has not done anything to prove them. She's noted that her client passed a lie-detector test centering on his denials that he sent the tweet in question.

She has also said that WWL Radio went to the police only after the breakdown of negotiations to settle Dunlap’s complaints about a work culture he perceived as homophobic.

Kiefer did not have any additional comment on Thursday night. But she has said Dunlap welcomes the NOPD investigation since it’s by an outside party and he believes it will clear his name.

 

[raccoonradio]

He was fired two days ago.

 

[stevenNOLA]

He was fired two days ago.

This will end very badly for one of the 2 parties involved as the stakes have been raised to a new level. Dunlap passed a lie detector test and states he didn't have access to the Twitter account. Entercom firing him raises things to the next level, setting him up for wrongful termination if he's being truthful.

Meanwhile, if he's indeed not telling the truth, he's on the hook for criminal extortion against Entercom, among other things.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.wwltv.com/video/news/lo...nlap/289-3dae1ba5-f51a-465c-b3f5-34451ad017e3

Here is an Update on Entercom and Seth Dunlap

https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_f790e078-0244-11ea-be38-87c38b5e80c4.html

A New Orleans police detective went to a judge on Wednesday and applied for a warrant to arrest former WWL Radio sports talk-show host Seth Dunlap on a count of extortion, multiple criminal justice sources say.

According to one of the sources with knowledge of the application, the detective presented evidence to back up his central allegation: that the openly gay radio personality used his phone to launch a homophobic insult at himself via the radio station’s Twitter account before demanding nearly $2 million to settle complaints about a hostile workplace.

But Magistrate Commissioner Robert Blackburn rejected the warrant. The sources said Blackburn didn’t find the evidence backed up a charge of extortion, which is defined as making threats to a person “with the intention (to) obtain anything of value.”
The extent of the threat that Dunlap is accused of making — he allegedly warned he would go “scorched earth” on the station if it didn’t accede to his settlement demands — didn’t justify the felony charge, Blackburn said.

The Police Department can still pursue an arrest warrant alleging that Dunlap committed a different offense based on the same evidence, or it could renew its request for an extortion charge by bolstering its application with more evidence.

It wasn’t immediately clear where the investigation into Dunlap — who has maintained his innocence and has pledged to sue the station over its treatment of him — goes next.

This incident is going to end up like the Jussie Smollett fiasco given the direction the story is going. The Only difference between Smollett and Dunlap here was that Smollette's version was national news for some time though.

Dunlap's incident was confined to Louisiana.