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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Fired Minnesota TV meteorologist claims boss ordered her to wear tight-fitting dresses, reprimanded her for changing hair color: lawsuit
A popular Minnesota TV meteorologist accused her boss of pushing her to wear tight-fitting clothes and reprimanding her for switching her hair color before she was fired, according to a lawsuit. Wren Clair, whose legal name is Renee Fox, filed the sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against ABC affiliate KSTP-TV in St. Paul over the alleged misconduct by news director Kirk Varner. Starting in 2021, Varner regularly spoke 'about (Fox's) body and appearance,' according to the complaint filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court. '(He) voiced his preference for tighter fitting outfits, complained when she wore 'pants' instead of a dress … and complained about her decision to switch from blonde to her natural hair color.' Fox said she was demoted from the evening news to a daytime schedule last year after she complained to the station's human resources department, the lawsuit alleged. She was fired in February after seven years at the station. 'In Minnesota, when your boss has allowed in front of people that he wonders what it would be like to sleep with you or wake up next to you, and then makes comments on your appearance on a regular basis — that's against the law,' Paul Schinner, Fox's attorney, told The Post on Thursday. Varner, who had worked at the station since 2019, left the station in March. 'KSTP does not comment on personnel matters or active litigation,' Mike Garber, who replaced Varner as the station's news director, told The Post. In a legal filing on Wednesday, KSTP denied the sexual harassment allegations and claimed Fox was fired 'as a result of her poor performance, on which she was repeatedly coached.' KSTP said Varner's comments on Fox's appearance were 'standard for on-air talent,' according to the filing. Varner 'emphasized the importance of clothing fit, informed (Fox) that wearing certain pants, such as joggers, on-air was unprofessional, and addressed (Fox's) abrupt hair color change from blonde to brunette by referencing the appearance clause in her employment agreement,' the station said. Fox alleged Varner was 'more harshly critical' of her compared to her male colleagues, and gave her less desirable hours, assignments and promotional opportunities, according to her complaint. KSTP denied those allegations and argued that Fox 'could not be trusted with severe weather coverage and … began deflecting and blaming others for her poor performance.' Fox took over as the primetime weekday meteorologist for the station, which covers the Twin Cities area, in 2020 after chief weatherperson Dave Dahl retired. Prior to his retirement, Dahl had 'commented on (Fox's) appearance, telling her how 'great' and 'slim' she looked,' according to the lawsuit. Fox said she reported the comments to Varner, who 'excused Dahl's conduct in a way that expressly referenced gender.' KSTP said Dahl had 'apologized and agreed to work on it.' As Dahl was weighing whether to retire, he allegedly told Fox he knew 'how (she) wanted to have a baby' and could 'cover her maternity leave,' according to the lawsuit. Fox claimed she had never mentioned wanting to have a child to anyone at KSTP, and that 'sex-based presumptions' like these were common at the station. Varner and Dahl did not immediately respond to The Post's requests for comment. Before Fox took over the primetime slot, Varner 'repeatedly and vocally doubted that 'the public can accept a female lead in a scientist role,'' according to her lawsuit. Fox holds degrees in chemistry and meteorology, according to the lawsuit. KSTP claimed Varner had 'repeatedly coached (Fox) to use less scientific and highly technical jargon in her weather reports, and to instead use basic language that could be readily understood by viewers.' In the lawsuit, Fox claimed that other male peers at the station 'treated her with blatant disrespect' after Dahl retired. She then started to make frequent, formal complaints to HR, according to the lawsuit. KSTP said Fox complained to HR about Varner only once, and that her shift to the daytime schedule was not a demotion and her compensation did not change. Though she was not formally disciplined, she 'received repeated performance coaching and warnings up to the date of her termination,' KSTP said. She was fired from the station with two years left on her contract. Fox is seeking back pay, attorneys' fees and damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
TV meteorologist pressured to wear tight dresses instead of trousers and scolded for dying blonde hair brown by sexist boss, lawsuit claims
A Minnesota meteorologist says she was forced to wear tight dresses and scolded for dying her blonde hair to brown by her 'sexist' bosses in a blistering new lawsuit. Wren Clair, whose legal name is Renee Fox, alleges that she faced sexual discrimination and harassment while working at local broadcaster KSTP-TV. The weather forecaster left the station in February after seven years and joined rival outlet KARE 11 the next month, claiming that she reached breaking point after being demoted for reporting the alleged misconduct. KSTP-TV categorically denied her allegations in its legal response to her complaint. Clair claims she was targeted by her coworkers and superiors in a lawsuit filed this week in Ramsey County District Court in Minneapolis, but said the alleged harassment was 'driven' by KSTP News Director Kirk Varner. She alleges that Varner 'enabled' KSTP Chief Meteorologist Dave Dahl as he harassed her, which saw them 'engage in a variety of sexually offensive conduct'. According to the lawsuit, this included Dahl repeatedly commenting on Clair's body, 'frequently talking about his sex life in graphic detail', complimenting the breasts of an underage waitress and engaging in 'sex acts in public' at the company Christmas party. Other lewd allegations include Dahl telling Clair how 'turned on' he was by his then-girlfriend's 'lack of sexual experience', and 'proudly' showing colleagues pictures of his girlfriend's breasts, per the lawsuit. Clair alleges that when Dahl, described as an 'untouchable' newsman in the area, retired in 2020, Varner picked up the mantle and subjected her to 'years of sex-based double standards and stereotypes'. Clair's former employer KSTP-TV denied her allegation that she was fired after reporting the misconduct, and said she was terminated for poor performance. But in her shock filing, Clair said that she had never been hit with any formal disciplinary action, and was replaced by a 'less qualified man' after she was fired. She alleges that KSTP-TV has a, 'deeply ingrained culture of inappropriate sexual conduct and sexism' that 'traces its roots' back to Dahl, who is not named as a defendant in the suit. Clair said that Dahl had a devoted fan base in the area and was viewed as 'untouchable' by network executives, who 'worked hard to create and maintain a public image of Dahl as a wholesome member of the Twin Cities community which starkly contrasted reality'. Clair alleges that KSTP-TV has a 'deeply ingrained culture of inappropriate sexual conduct and sexism' that included the network's chief meteorologist 'frequently talking about his sex life in graphic detail' Her complaint states that when Dahl retired, Varner was in charge of picking his replacement, but 'vocally doubted that the public can accept a lead female in a scientist role'. The forecaster said she was given less favorable hours on the air and given worse assignments than her male peers, who she said also joined in the alleged workplace harassment. This included male meteorologists leaving her with inaccurate forecast information and refusing to coordinate with her before her broadcasts that left her scrambling in front of viewers, according to the lawsuit. Clair said in her complaint she was demoted in October 2024 after she started reporting the misconduct and fired the following February. She said the network refused to explain what was 'unsatisfactory' about her performance. In a response to the lawsuit filed in court on Wednesday, KSTP-TV said that it 'denies each and every allegation' put forward by Clair. The network said that Clair was 'repeatedly coached' on her performance before she was fired, and said she was told to use 'less scientific and highly technical jargon' in her weather reports. It also admitted that Varner commented on Clair having a 'swimmer's body', and 'emphasized the importance of clothing fit', as it countered that she would wear 'joggers' on the air. The network also did not refute that Clair was scolded for dying her hair from blonde to brown, but said that she was referred to 'the appearance clause in her Employment Agreement'. KSTP-TV told Daily Mail in response to the lawsuit that it 'does not comment on personnel matters or active litigation.'
