She also expressed frustration over what she described as repeated complaints about her behaviour, New York Post reported. A fired Detroit TV news anchor was caught on video in a heated newsroom confrontation with a colleague, calling the woman a derogatory name. The footage, first highlighted by FTVLive and Deadline Detroit, appears to show a disagreement developing over scripts and the workflow surrounding the recording.
The video features Taryn Asher while she was recording a public service announcement at WJBK-TV Fox 2 Detroit, where she was taken off the air in November last year.
Asher is suing Fox Television Stations and New World Communications of Detroit, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation under federal and Michigan civil-rights laws. The station accused her of shouting at staff over guest-interview assignments, repeatedly using profanity and engaging in confrontational and disrespectful interactions. The station described several incidents involving disagreements over interview assignments.
She claims the station treated male employees accused of misconduct more leniently and retaliated after she raised concerns about discrimination In its August 14 response to the lawsuit, Fox said several employees had complained about Asher’s behaviour in the week before she was placed on paid leave on November 5. Tensions escalated on October 30 when Asher mistakenly believed that her male co-anchor, Roop Raj, had been given an interview she had booked, according to Fox .
It said Asher sometimes failed to attend editorial meetings where assignments were discussed, despite being encouraged to participate. The station said the interview had actually been assigned to Asher but alleged that she later raised her voice and shouted at two colleagues over the misunderstanding.
The station alleged that Asher confronted Raj and accused him of receiving preferential treatment. Another dispute allegedly occurred during election coverage on November 4. Fox said producers initially assigned Raj both guest interviews for the 5 pm and 6 pm. broadcasts but later reassigned one of them to Asher.
Fox said Raj later spoke with human resources and described Asher’s behaviour as stemming from jealousy and tensions between male and female colleagues.
