Former TV Weatherman Jeremy Kappell Sues News Station Over Racial Slur-Usage Firing

Jeremy Kappell, a former meteorologist for NBC-affiliated WHEC-TV (Channel 10), who was fired from his job after he uttered a racial slur during a weather broadcast in January, filed a lawsuit against his ex-employer Monday.

Kappell sued the Rochester, New York, news station, Hubbard Broadcasting, and the station’s vice president and general manager, Richard Reingold, for breach of contract, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress, seeking a jury trial regarding his termination, ABC-affiliate 13WHAM reported.

According to Kappell’s attorneys, the defendants engaged in "callous and reckless conduct” following what was described by Kappell to be an unintentional “verbal slip.” The lawsuit also referred to a statement made by Reingold following the January incident in which he had made it sound like “Kappell had intentionally uttered a racial slur. In doing so, Reingold defamed Kappell, as he knew or should have known that his statement, particularly as it related to Kappell's linguistic error and intent, was false."

On Jan. 4, Kappell said the phrase “Dr. Luther C--- King Jr. Park” while referring to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Square Park in Rochester during an evening news segment. Although the segment was broadcasted on a Friday, the station’s management failed to catch the error until the following Sunday. At the time, they said that they had launched an internal investigation to determine why it took so long for them to become aware of the incident.

"Upon learning of the incident, News10News leadership immediately initiated an internal investigation and internal discussion, and by Sunday had made a staffing change. As a result of that broadcast meteorologist Jeremy Kappell is no longer with News10NBC. We believe strongly in holding our reporters and anchors to the highest standard… That it was not caught immediately is inexcusable. I regret that we did not immediately interrupt the broadcast and apologize on the spot. The words have no place on News10NBC's air,” Reingold said in a statement at the time.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren also joined in the outcry against Kappell at the time, condemning his use of the slur. “It is beyond unacceptable that this occurred. There must be real consequences for the news personality involved and also for the management team that failed to immediately apologize and address the slur. The individual responsible for the slur should no longer be employed at Channel 10,” she said, CBS-affiliated Valley Central reported.

She also called out the news station for their delayed response. “But, there is a larger issue here. An issue that is exemplified by the response of management at Channel 10. It took the station nearly two days to apologize, and only after the station was shamed into doing so by a backlash on social media,” Warren added.

The Rochester Association for Black Journalists also issued a statement at the time, calling for the Kappell’s immediately firing. Three days after the incident took place, Kappell confirmed he had been sacked, in reply to another meteorologist’s tweet in his support.

The incident was called a “linguistic error” in Kappell’s lawsuit, where he claimed he was let go from the company "prior to conducting any real investigation into the situation.” He was seeking monetary judgment in an amount to be determined at the trial.

WHEC-TV issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit: “We are disappointed that Mr. Kappell has taken this step, and are prepared to defend our decision to the fullest. Because this matter is now in the courts, we will have no further comment.”