Rogers Sports & Media and former 92 CITI FM morning show host Dave Wheeler have settled a $1.4M lawsuit filed following his high-profile dismissal from the company in 2018.
The suit, which Wheeler filed in September of that year, claimed Rogers Sports & Media violated his employment contract and publicly defamed him. It sought lost wages – based on the morning show host’s $355,000 annual salary – plus $80,000 in bonuses and benefits he would have received had his contract not been cancelled.
His dismissal was sparked by outrage from trans activists over an on-air conversation about actress Scarlett Johansson pulling out of a film in which she was set to play a transgendered character. During the segment, Wheeler compared trans people to actors “who pretend to be different things.”
While Wheeler apologized for the comment, the lawsuit took particular issue with Rogers Sports & Media denouncing his behaviour as contradicting its standards and core values. The suit maintained the company “condoned, encouraged and promoted” the host for being controversial, agitating and provocative, going so far as to use words like “edgy,” “uncensored,” “uncut” and “imbalanced” to promote Wheeler In The Morning.
Winnipeg Court of King’s Bench documents show Wheeler’s lawyer, Matthew Duffy, filed a notice of discontinuance last week, with the dispute recorded as “settled” earlier in the month. Rogers Sports & Media confirmed to Broadcast Dialogue that the matter is now closed.
Wheeler is currently heard in mornings on Evanov Communications’ Energy 106 (CHWE-FM) Winnipeg, alongside Jasmin Laine and Tyler Carr.
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