If Mickey Mouse signs your check, do not use the C-word at work.
Local New York anchor Ken Rosato was axed from ABC 7 for allegedly referring to his co-anchor Shirleen Allicot with a four-letter word, sources exclusively tell Page Six.
The longtime local “Eyewitness News This Morning” anchor was “immediately fired” after “he called her a c–t” on a hot mic, a source said.
Rosato was off the air when he allegedly uttered the phrase, we were told, but insiders previously said his remark was picked up “on an open mic” and that he was “immediately let go.”
Rosato got the boot from Channel 7 — owned and operated by Disney — a few days after ESPN gave baseball reporter Marly Rivera the heave-ho for calling freelance reporter Ivón Gaete a “f–king c–t” while battling over who would attempt to interview Yankees star Aaron Judge during batting practice. TMZ got the video, of course.
The incident happened on April 18, which was the series opener between the Yankees and Angels. Gaete was hired to cover Shohei Ohtani’s appearance in the Bronx for a Japanese outlet. Getting an interview with Judge — presumably to get his thoughts on Ohtani — is basic blocking and tackling for a reporter with that assignment. If anyone watches Tokyo Broadcasting and knows whether the interview happened, let us know.
Moreover, Gaete’s husband is John Blundell, a MLB communications executive. Rivera has since told two outlets — The Washington Post and The Post — she apologizes for her behavior, but believes her firing is MLB-driven retaliation for past disagreements with Blundell. ESPN is a MLB rights holder.
In the course of MLB’s fact-finding, the league’s Office of Investigations made calls and received information both about the incident at Yankee Stadium and other reports about Rivera’s behavior, according to people who spoke to the league. The information that MLB collected was then shared with ESPN, according to a person with knowledge of the events. A member of ESPN’s human resources department then conducted a full investigation into the incident at Yankee Stadium. He spoke to several media members, and the company decided to part ways with Rivera. By Thursday, Rivera had disabled her Twitter account.
Multiple reporters described to The Post incidents involving Rivera that they said crossed the line from typical scrapping in America’s largest media market to creating a toxic work environment. Last year, she flipped off another reporter and called her a “white b—-” after the reporter attempted to take a photo of a group of Hispanic players that Rivera was taking a picture of, according to two people who witnessed the incident. In another instance, she called a Latino reporter a “fake Hispanic,” according to multiple people who witnessed it.
“There were extenuating circumstances, but that is not an excuse,” Rivera said in an interview with The Post about those incidents. “I believe these are mischaracterizations of who I am. Disagreements between media members are part of the nature of our business and happen on a regular basis, yet I am being singled out.”
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
