He may be the world's most generous billionaire.
Former WABC radio host Malia Ryan, who is rumored to have once been a lover of Rudy Giuliani, has accused the station's boss, John Catsimatidis, of firing her and the former mayor for opposing sex discrimination. is suing.
But the supermarket mogul still considers Giuliani, a fellow New York Republican stalwart, a friend.
“I've always respected Rudy Giuliani,” Catsimatidis said, calling him “one of the greatest mayors in American history.”
Mr. Ryan filed a lawsuit against WABC and Mr. Catsimatidis on Saturday, even though he is negotiating a new contract with Mr. Giuliani's son, Andrew, also a WABC host.
Mr. Catsimatidis said he still speaks with Mr. Giuliani despite the conflict on WABC.
“I have nothing against him,” he told the Post.
“We fight every 30 years.”
ryan Former hospital CEO She worked at the station from 2021 until she was fired in May, and said she went to WABC President Chad Lopez multiple times to raise concerns about discrimination, but all he ended up doing was blaming Catsimatidis. spoke.
Mr. Ryan, 60, said he initially worked without pay, but later received just $200 for an episode of the “Uncovering the Truth” show he co-hosted with Giuliani on Sunday.
In her Manhattan Supreme Court case, she said her pay rate was lower than that of men.
The certified nurse also said she was “forced to submit all four degrees to Mr. Lopez to prove his credentials as a 'real' health care provider. This was humiliating and demoralizing.” “It was a similar experience,” he said in legal documents.
She was falsely accused of playing unauthorized music on her show and claimed her bosses threatened to fire her for mentioning Newsmax on air, according to Manhattan Supreme Court filings. This is said to be a violation of “unwritten rules.”
“I went to Chad Lopez and said, 'I feel like this is a hostile work environment. My opinion is not respected,'” she told the Post.
She is suing Mr. Catsimatidis, Mr. Lopez and the department for sex discrimination and unspecified damages.
Mr. Catsimatidis flatly rejected that claim.
“Rudy Giuliani, one of the greatest mayors in American history, asked WABC to hire Dr. Maria Ryan to support Rudy's weekly radio show, and WABC agreed. I was not given any special treatment with my staff,” he told the Post.
“The WABC radio show paid Maria appropriately, but she never complained to WABC that she wasn't properly compensated because she was a woman. We have a proud history of on-air talent, and any claims that women are treated differently than men, whether they are on-air talent or not, are false.”
Catsimatidis added that Giuliani was “suspended on Friday for ignoring WABC's instructions that it was appropriate to discuss it on air.” WABC asked Rudy to come to a meeting next Monday to discuss the matter. He never came to see me. As a result, we have terminated Maria's contract with WABC in accordance with our agreement.
“It was a disappointing end to their time at WABC and certainly not how we wanted Rudy's time at WABC to end. We will continue to hold Rudy in very high esteem.” We will continue to evaluate it,” it said in a statement. “WABC denies all allegations of wrongdoing alleged in this court complaint. We look forward to defending ourselves and the public knowing the truth about what really happened.” ”
Ms. Ryan, who became prominent in opposing the Centers for Disease Control's handling of the pandemic, said she remained at the agency for as long as possible without raising concerns.
“I was too embarrassed to even talk to a lawyer because I had been worried about it for so long,” she said.
“I would never tell my granddaughters to do that. I would never tell my employees that. Here I am going through this and how to deal with it. I don’t even know.”
She denied rumors that she was romantically involved with Giuliani.
“This is very insulting and it affects their story,” said Ryan, who has been married for 43 years, is a mother of three and grandmother of five.
“Not only do we have a working relationship, but we're family friends now. Rudy just spent Thanksgiving at my house in New Hampshire.”
“The only reason we were fired is because Rudy came forward and said, 'This is a hostile work environment and she's being treated differently because she's a woman.'
Mr. Giuliani, who is bankrupt and twice indicted, was suspended for ranting about the “stolen” 2020 presidential election on his eponymous WABC show, and was unable to attend subsequent meetings, Mr. Catsimatidis said. It is said that he did not appear.
Mr. Giuliani is also expected to sue the department for wrongful termination, said attorney Matthew Britt, who represents the former mayor and Mr. Ryan.
“What has changed since the day it aired is that Dr. Ryan complained of sex discrimination, and just like on September 11th, Mayor Rudy courageously defended her, and both parties were wrongfully retaliated against.” Britt said.
