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The ACLU said an employee used racial slurs and fired her. But did she?

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 09:36:08 +0000

Kate Oh was no one’s idea of an employee.

During her five years as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, she was a ruthless critic of her superiors, known for sending long, blistering emails to human resources complaining about what she described as a hostile workplace.

She considered herself a whistleblower and advocate for other women in the office, drawing unflattering attention to an environment she saw as rife with sexism, burdened with unmanageable workloads and hampered by a fear-based culture.

Then the tables turned, and Ms. Oh was the one hit with a charge of serious misconduct. The ACLU said its complaints about several superiors — all of whom were black — used “racist stereotypes.” She was fired in May 2022.

The ACLU acknowledges that Ms. Oh, a Korean-American, has never made racist comments. But the group says her use of certain phrases and words demonstrated a pattern of deliberate anti-black animus.

In one instance, according to court documents, she told a black superior she was “scared” to talk to him. In another, she told a manager their conversation was “chastising.” And during a meeting, she repeated a satirical line comparing her bosses’ behavior to “beatings.”

Has her language led to racism? Or was she just talking rudely about bosses who happened to be black? That question is the subject of an unusual unfair labor practice case brought against the ACLU by the National Labor Relations Board, which has accused the organization of retaliating against Ms. Oh.

A trial in the case concluded this week in Washington and a judge is expected to decide in the coming months whether the ACLU was justified in firing her.

If the ACLU loses, it could be ordered to reinstate her or pay restitution.

The core of the ACLU’s defense — advocating an expansive definition of what constitutes racist or racially coded speech — has struck some labor and free speech lawyers as odd, since the organization has historically protected the right to free speech and operates on the principle that it may not like what someone says, but it will fight for the right to say it.

The case raises some intriguing questions about the wide range of employee behavior and speech protected by labor law — and how the nation’s leading civil rights organization finds itself on the other side of that law, arguing that those protections are not should apply to her former employee.

A lawyer representing the ACLU, Ken Margolis, said during a legal proceeding last year that it was irrelevant whether Ms. Oh harbored racist ill will. All that mattered, he said, was that her black colleagues were offended and hurt.

“We are not here to prove anything other than that the impact of her actions was very real — that she caused harm,” Mr. Margolis said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “She has caused serious harm to black members of the ACLU community.”

Rick Bialczak, the attorney representing Ms. Oh through her union, responded sarcastically, saying he wanted to congratulate Mr. Margolis on giving an exhaustive presentation of the ACLU’s evidence: three interactions Ms. the personnel department.

“I want to note and commend Ken for spending 40 minutes explaining why three discreet comments over a period of several months caused serious harm to ACLU members, Black workers,” he said.

Yes, she had complained about black supervisors, Mr. Bialczak acknowledged. But her immediate boss and that boss’s boss were black.

“Those were her supervisors,” he said. “If she has complaints about her supervision, who should she complain about?”

Ms Oh declined to comment for this article, citing the ongoing case.

The ACLU has a history of representing groups reviled by liberals. This week, it argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of the National Rifle Association in a First Amendment case.

But for critics of the ACLU, Ms. Oh’s case is a sign of how far the group has strayed from its core mission — defending free speech — and instead joined a progressive politics intensely focused on identity .

“Much of our work today,” the website explains, “is focused on equality for people of color, women, gay and transgender people, prisoners, immigrants and people with disabilities.”

And since the start of the Trump administration, the organization has taken on partisan issues that it might have avoided in the past, such as running a advertisement in support of Stacey Abrams’ 2018 campaign for governor of Georgia.

“They expanded radically and raised so much more money — hundreds of millions of dollars — from left-wing donors desperate to roll back the Trump administration’s terrifying excesses,” said Lara Bazelon, a law professor at the University of San Francisco. critical from the ACLU “And they hired people with a lot of extremely strong views on race and workplace rules. And along the way they themselves ended up in a situation of excesses.”

“I’m going through the entire file looking for any evidence that this Asian woman is a racist,” Ms. Bazelon added, “and I’m finding none.”

The beginning of the end for Ms. Oh, who worked in the ACLU’s political advocacy department, began in late February 2022, according to court documents and interviews with lawyers and others familiar with the case.

The ACLU organized a virtual organization-wide meeting under difficult circumstances. The national political director, who was black, had left suddenly after multiple complaints about his abrasive treatment of subordinates. Ms. Oh, one of the employees who had complained, spoke at the meeting and stated that she was skeptical that conditions would actually improve.

“Why not simply expect that ‘the abuse will continue until morale improves,’” she said in a Zoom group chat, invoking a well-known phrase printed and sold on T-shirts, usually accompanied by the skull and crossbones of a pirate flag. She explained that she was “absolutely metaphorical.”

Shortly thereafter, Ms. Oh heard from the ACLU manager overseeing equity and inclusion efforts, Amber Hikes, who warned Ms. Oh about her language. Ms Oh’s comment was “dangerous and damaging”, Ms Hikes warned, as it appeared to imply the former supervisor had physically assaulted her.

“Please consider the very real impact of that kind of violent language in the workplace,” Ms. Hikes wrote in an email.

Ms. Oh acknowledged that she had been wrong and apologized.

In subsequent weeks, senior managers documented other instances in which they said Ms. Oh mistreated black employees.

In early March, Ben Needham, who had succeeded the recently departed national political director, reported that Ms. Oh called her immediate supervisor, a black woman, a liar. According to his story, he asked Ms. Oh why she had not complained before.

She replied that she was “scared” to talk to him.

“As a black man, language like ‘scared’ is generally a code word for me,” Mr. Needham wrote in an email to other ACLU executives. “It’s triggering for me.”

Mr. Needham, who is gay and grew up in the Deep South, said in an interview: “I learned as a child that I was a danger.”

Hearing someone say he or she is afraid of them, he added, is like saying, “These are the people we should be afraid of.”

Ms. Oh and her lawyers have cited her own past: As a survivor of domestic violence, she was particularly sensitive to tense interactions with male colleagues. She said she took issue with Mr Needham ever calling his predecessor a “friend” as she was among the employees who criticized him.

Mr Needham said he had only discussed their relationship in a professional context.

According to court documents, the ACLU conducted an internal investigation into whether Ms. Oh had any reason to be afraid of talking to Mr. Needham, concluding that there were “no compelling grounds” for her concerns.

The following month, Ms. Hikes, head of the equality and inclusion department, wrote a letter to Ms. Oh, documenting a third incident: her own.

“Calling my check-in ‘chastise’ or ‘reprimand’ feels like an intentional mischaracterization to continue the stream of anti-Black rhetoric you have used throughout the organization,” Ms. Hikes wrote in an email.

“I am hopeful that you will take into account the lived experiences and feelings of those you work with,” she added. (Citing the ongoing case, the ACLU said Ms. Hikes could not comment for this article.)

The final straw that led to Ms. Oh’s dismissal came in late April, according to the organization, when she wrote on Twitter that she was “physically disgusted” by having to work for “incompetent/abusive bosses.”

As caustic as her position was – likely grounds for dismissal in most circumstances – her speech may have been protected. The NLRB’s complaint rests on an argument that Ms. Oh, as an employee who had previously complained with other coworkers about workplace conditions, engaged in what is legally known as “protected concerted activity.”

“The public nature of her speech does not deprive her of the protections of the NLRA,” said Charlotte Garden, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, referring to the National Labor Relations Act, which governs workers’ rights.

She added that the burden of proof is on the NLRB, which must convince the judge that Ms. Oh’s social media post and her other comments were part of a pattern of workplace speaking out.

“You could say this is a corollary of that and therefore protected,” she said.

The ACLU has argued that she has the right to maintain a civil workplace, just as Ms. Oh has the right to speak out. And she has not backed away from claiming that her language was harmful to black colleagues, even though her words were not explicitly racist.

Terence Dougherty, the general counsel, said in an interview that standards for workplace behavior have shifted in 2024, likening the case to someone who used the wrong pronouns when addressing a transgender colleague.

“There is nuance in the language,” Mr. Dougherty said, “that really impacts the sense of belonging in the workplace.”

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Families have been moved from a shelter where police fired a stun gun at the migrant

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:46:22 +0000

A few days after a violent confrontation in which police struck and used a stun gun on a Venezuelan migrant at a city-run shelter in Queens, that man’s family and three other families staying at the shelter received unexpected news with little explanation: they had to move.

Two of the families said in interviews that they were told to pack their belongings and then placed in taxis and Ubers that dropped them off at other shelters. The abrupt moves and lack of clarity – shelter staff only told them they were being moved for “safety reasons” – left the families searching for answers in their new environment.

“We didn’t even get a warning,” said Alexander Monsalve, 40, who was put into a car with his wife and two daughters around 9 p.m. Tuesday and dropped them off at a Staten Island hotel about 30 miles away. had been converted into a reception center for migrants. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

The families’ move appeared to be the latest fallout from last week’s altercation at the Queens shelter, where police officers responding to calls about a dispute tried to restrain a migrant holding his 1-year-old son. Officers used a stun gun on the man, separated him from his child and struck him repeatedly as they tried to subdue him.

City officials are investigating the matter. Mayor Eric Adams has supported the officers’ behavior, saying the migrant, Yanny Cordero, was drunk and acting violently. Mr. Cordero, who was arrested and later released, has vehemently denied the allegations.

Most of the removals took place after The New York Times published video of the police altercation. Those moved included Mr. Cordero’s and that of the man who shot the video.

The city has offered vague and varying explanations, leading to a swirl of speculation among the migrants being moved and disruption for some of those who had recently found jobs and enrolled their children in Queens schools.

The changes have provided a glimpse into the inconveniences that relocation can cause for the 65,000 migrants the city houses in a hodgepodge of shelters, hotels and tent dormitories.

Many migrants are allowed to stay at a particular city shelter for a certain amount of time before having to move, a rule intended to push them out of the shelter system but allows them to reapply and be transferred to another shelter. Single adults are allowed 30 days, while families are allowed a maximum of 60 days.

In response to questions from The Times, city officials first suggested that the moves from the Queens shelter were routine.

“With the city’s shelter population nearly tripling in less than two years, we occasionally need to move families to ensure appropriate placements,” said a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, which runs the Queens shelter , in a statement on Wednesday.

But on Thursday, city officials said in a follow-up statement that three of the four families were moved after credible concerns were raised with shelter staff. Officials said the move was taken in response to a report from another shelter resident that raised concerns for that resident’s safety. The officials did not provide additional details, citing privacy concerns, and said the transfers were in accordance with state regulations.

“These transfers occurred due to serious concerns about potential health and safety issues for other residents of the shelter,” the spokeswoman said.

The fourth family — Mr. Cordero, his wife and their three children — were taken to a shelter in Brooklyn because of the traumatic nature of the event, officials said.

In interviews, the families said they were as surprised by their move as they were by the claim that they were the cause of safety problems at the shelter, a former Marriott Hotel on Archer Avenue in the Jamaican borough of Queens that now houses 250 migrants. families.

“We don’t understand why we were taken — without motive or explanation,” said Nadia Prieto, 20, from Venezuela, who was taken with her husband and two children to a hotel-turned-shelter in the Bronx. “No one has ever complained to us. We have not had any problems with the staff at any time.”

As they left the Queens shelter, Ms. Prieto and her husband, Andry Barreto, said they were told by a shelter supervisor that they were being transferred for “safety reasons.” They packed their bags and strollers into an Uber ordered by the shelter, not quite sure where it was going.

The lack of a clear explanation led the couple – the godparents of Mr Cordero’s children – to speculate without evidence that they had been moved in retaliation. They wondered whether it was because they had spoken to the news media, or because it was Mr. Barreto who recorded the video of police beating Mr. Cordero as they arrested him.

City Hall has responded strongly to any insinuations of retaliation.

“Shelter residents talk to the press all the time,” said Kayla Mamelak, spokeswoman for the mayor. “Speaking to the press is not a crime. It is certainly not a security issue and it is certainly not a reason why anyone would be asked to leave the system, let alone moved.”

Mr. Monsalve, who was transferred to Staten Island, said he was at work Tuesday afternoon when guards suddenly came to his room and told his wife that the family had to leave the Queens shelter, where they had been staying for three months. .

Within a few hours they had packed their things. When Mr Monsalve asked why they were being moved, a shelter worker told him the order had come “from above” and they were being moved for “safety reasons,” he said.

He also wondered without evidence whether they were being moved because a shelter worker had seen his wife talking to a Telemundo reporter about the police altercation earlier in the week.

Or maybe, he thought, it was a run-in he had with a security guard at the Queens Shelter, who he said yelled at one of his daughters after she stopped the elevator one day.

Whatever the reason, Mr. Monsalve, who had found work as a construction worker selling balloons in Queens, said he felt especially upset about his daughters, ages 9 and 13, who had settled in and made friends at their school in Queens.

On Thursday, their parents were already busy registering them at a new school on Staten Island – a place they had never heard of.

“Now we start again,” he said in Spanish. “As they say, ‘All change is for the greater good.’”

Dana Rubinstein And Liset Cruz reporting contributed.

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Israel says its forces ‘fired precisely’ amid aid convoy chaos

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 14:54:14 +0000

Israeli soldiers shot “precisely” at Gazans who approached them during a chaotic scene at an aid convoy in northern Gaza last week, leading to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians, but they did not fire at the convoy itself, the Israeli army said on Friday. after an initial internal assessment.

The account differs sharply from that of witnesses and Palestinian officials who described extensive shootings after thousands of desperate Gazans gathered around an aid convoy organized by Israel. The deaths sparked global outrage and underscored widespread hunger and hopelessness in northern Gaza, where five months of war and little aid have pushed many to the brink.

The initial assessment largely matched Israel’s early account of the disaster, repeating claims that many civilians were injured or killed in a stampede as they crowded around aid trucks. It said Israeli forces had opened fire on dozens of Gazans who approached them.

Officials in Gaza did not immediately respond to the Israeli review.

The Israeli military said the investigation found that the soldiers had fired “precisely” at people who approached them, in what they said was an effort to keep “suspects” at bay.

“As they approached, the troops fired to eliminate the threat,” the report said in a statement summarizing the investigation’s findings.

Hours after the disaster, doctors in Gaza described dozens of casualties in area hospitals, many killed or injured by gunfire.

An investigative committee appointed by Israel’s military chief of staff will continue to investigate the incident, the army said. Some say human rights organizations that the Israeli military has no independent accountability mechanisms and rarely punishes soldiers for harming Palestinians in disputed circumstances.

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Witnesses describe how people were shot as Israeli soldiers fired into the crowds surrounding the aid convoy

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 20:27:25 +0000

They went out in their thousands, camping overnight along the coastal road in the cold Gaza night – building small fires to keep warm – huddled together waiting for supplies to arrive so they could feed their families.

What they encountered were dead and wounded as Israeli forces opened fire on hungry, desperate Palestinians who rushed forward as aid trucks finally arrived after dark on Thursday, according to three eyewitnesses and a doctor who treated the wounded.

“I saw things I never thought I would see,” said Mohammed Al-Sholi, who had camped overnight for a chance to get food for his family. “I saw people fall to the ground after being shot and others just grab whatever food they had with them and keep running for their lives.”

More than 100 Palestinians were killed on Thursday morning, health officials in Gaza said, when Israeli forces opened fire as huge crowds crowded around aid trucks.

An Israeli military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, acknowledged that Israeli forces opened fire “when a mob moved in a way that endangered them,” without giving details. But he denied that soldiers shot at people trying to get food. “Despite the accusations, we did not shoot those who sought help,” he said. Most of the deaths were caused by stampedes, Admiral Hagari said, and some people were hit by emergency trucks.

The truck convoy was long and it remained unclear what exactly happened at the various locations. But Mr. Al-Sholi and two other witnesses said in telephone interviews that they saw Israeli forces shooting directly at people as they tried to reach the convoy. A doctor at a nearby hospital described seeing dozens of people with gunshot wounds.

Huge groups of people have camped for aid or rushed to convoys in recent weeks, hoping for some relief from the severe hunger that has gripped northern Gaza during nearly five months of an Israeli offensive that has seen intense bombing, siege and a ground invasion. .

Mr Al-Sholi, a 34-year-old taxi driver, said he was forced to join the thousands of people who gathered at the Nabulsi Roundabout in Gaza City because he and his family, including three young children , can survive on little other than the spices, chopped wheat and wild vegetables they can find.

On Wednesday he had heard that people had received bags of flour from relief trucks and there were rumors that another convoy was coming. So, around 7pm on Thursday, he went to Nabulsi roundabout with friends to wait.

He said he had never seen so many people gathered in one place. Others described tens of thousands of people waiting.

“Just before the trucks arrived, a tank started moving towards us. It was around 4:30 in the morning and fired a few shots in the air,” Mr. Al-Sholi said in a telephone interview. ‘That tank fired at least one shell. It was dark and I ran back to a destroyed building and took refuge there.”

When emergency trucks arrived shortly afterward, people ran toward them in desperation and gunfire started, the witnesses said.

“As usual, when the relief trucks arrived, people ran to get food and drinks and whatever else they could get,” said Mohammad Hamoudeh, a photographer in Gaza City. But when the people reached the trucks, he said, “the tanks started shooting directly at the people.”

He added: “I saw them firing direct machine gun fire.”

Mr Hamoudeh said despite the fear and panic on the ground, many were still rushing for supplies. “People were terrified, but not everyone. There were people who risked death just to get food,” he said. “They just want to live.”

The witnesses said the tanks fired grenades at people even after they started running away. They said tanks arrived between 3 and 4 a.m. and began firing regularly at Gaza residents, stopping around 7 a.m.

The Israeli military did not respond to questions about whether Israeli tanks opened fire before or after the aid trucks arrived. Admiral Hagari said the trucks reached Gaza City around 4:45 am

Partial drone video footage released by the Israeli military, along with social media videos of the scene analyzed by The New York Times, do not fully explain the sequence of events. Videos show panic, including people running for cover and grabbing food from trucks.

Mr Al-Sholi described the chaos as he drove away from the emergency trucks and people around him were hit.

“I saw people falling to the ground,” Mr Al-Sholi said. “The man next to me was shot in the arm and immediately lost his finger.”

As he fled, he said, he saw about 30 people on the ground, killed or wounded. One of the dead was his cousin, who was shot while running with a bag of flour, he said. About 150 yards from one of the tanks, he remembered seeing a boy about 12 years old lying on the ground with his face covered in blood. Some people were also run over by the emergency trucks, he said.

A third witness, a journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the Israeli army, said the Israeli fire was so intense that it was difficult to reach the wounded.

The tanks did not stop firing until around 07:00, but did not withdraw. People began dragging or carrying the dead and wounded while reciting the Islamic declaration of faith, fearing the tanks would start firing again, Mr. Hamoudeh said.

Ambulances had gathered about a mile away, but could not get closer for fear of being shot at by Israeli forces. Some people carried or carried the wounded on donkey carts, or took them to hospitals on their own

About 150 injured and 12 of the dead arrived at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said Dr. Eid Sabbah, the head of nursing there. He said about 95 percent of the injuries were gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.

Many of the wounded were in critical condition and required surgery, but the hospital, like the few others still operating in Gaza, suffered from a lack of electricity, fuel, medical equipment and medicine.

Medical staff could only perform 20 operations, with painkillers but no anesthesia, in their three equipped operating rooms, Dr. Sabbah said. Like the food supply, medical aid has become scarce over the past four months, leaving the few hospitals still in operation struggling to treat patients beyond emergency care.

Dr. Sabbah warned that many of those injured in Thursday’s shooting could not be properly treated at their hospitals.

“There are patients in the ICU who require specializations, medications and complex operations,” he said. “Their only hope is to be transferred outside Gaza for treatment.”

Approach Ibrahim reporting contributed.

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Inside Ivory Coast's crazy route to the Afcon final after being fired mid-tournament

Jeffrey Bailey — Sun, 11 Feb 2024 22:57:13 +0000

IVORY COAST's route to Africa Cup of Nations glory was one of the most chaotic in the history of football.

The hosts were on the brink of elimination after a 4-0 thrashing of Equatorial Guinea in the final match of the group stage.

Ivory Coast's Afcon story is one of the most remarkable in footballCredit: Reuters

Cancer beater Sebastien Haller celebrates after scoring Nigeria's winnerCredit: AP

The team has come a long way since the team that was defeated 4-0 by Equatorial GuineaCredit: AFP

But tonight they are celebrating after cancer-beater Sebastien Haller staged a remarkable comeback from 1-0 down to beat Nigeria 2-1 and be crowned the new kings of Africa.

They had been limping through the group stages up until that point, recording a 2-0 win in their opener against unimaginable Guinea-Bissau before losing 1-0 to Nigeria in their second match – a team that was hardly pulling trees at the time used to be.

But after the 4-0 disaster against Equatorial Guinea, the Elephants became one of the few sides in history to benefit from a revival of a new manager mid-tournament.

The team removed incumbent manager Jean-Louis Gasset and replaced him with his assistant Emerse Fae as interim head coach.

And Fae were able to immediately benefit from Afcon's recent expansion from a 16-team tournament to a 24-team event, with his side qualifying for the round of 16 as one of the best performing teams in the group stage in third place.

In Fae's first match against Senegal, Franck Kessie scored a penalty late in the 86th minute, making the score 1–1 and keeping the Elephants in the tournament.

They trailed 1–0 for much of the match before Kessie struck, but then managed to win on penalties against one of the pre-tournament favourites.

The side's late-late display was repeated again in their quarter-final victory over Mali, when Brighton's Simon Adingra equalized in the 90th minute to make it 1–1.

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Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked after Ivory Coast's 4-0 defeat by Equatorial GuineaCredit: AFP

He was replaced by his assistant, Emerse FaeCredit: AFP

That was enough to force extra time and an Oumar Diakite volley in the 122nd minute saw them win the match and progress to the semi-finals.

In those last victories, Ivory Coast fans dubbed their team “zombies,” given the team's ability to come back to life when it appears to be dead.

Watch Chelsea legend Didier Drogba's wild celebrations as Ivory Coast storm into the Africa Cup of Nations final

The 'zombie team' managed to reach the final in an easier way on Wednesday by beating DR Congo 1-0 thanks to a goal by Haller.

Chelsea legend Didier Drogba led the wild celebrations after his country booked their place in the bottom two at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium in Abidjan.

Reflecting on his side's unlikely route to the final, Fae said: “We're happy, we're really moved. It's like a dream when you go back two weeks to the defeat here against Equatorial Guinea.

“It was hard to imagine then that we would qualify for the final of our own Afcon.”

Kessie, whose late goal in the round of 16 epitomizes his side's 'never-say-die' attitude, also reflected on his side's run after they reached the final, saying: “As long as you have another If you have a five to ten percent chance, you have to keep believing, because that is what makes football beautiful.

“After the Morocco result [which saw the Ivory Coast qualify for the knockouts as a third place team] we knew we had qualified and that changed everything. It gave us the strength we needed, it gave us a boost. We knew we couldn't do worse than in the first round.

“We have to keep it up because you can't go all the way to the final and then give up.”

Drogba cheered again from the stands on Sunday as Kessie leveled the scores on the hour mark.

And then, with just nine minutes to go, came the magic moment when Haller stormed home the winner to create one of the most remarkable football stories ever.

Kessie's penalty against Senegal brought The Elephants back to lifeCredit: AP

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Revenge is a dish that is best served cold! Lauren Phillips and Jase Hawkins wage massive radio war against Kyle and Jackie O in Melbourne after being fired from KIIS FM – as Nova picks up their show

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 00:03:40 +0000

Lauren Phillips and Jase Hawkins will take on Kyle and Jackie O in Melbourne after Nova 100 picked up their extended breakfast show.

The radio duo, who were replaced by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson during their historic $200 million, ten-year radio expansion into the Victorian capital, have been picked up by Nova 100 as part of a new breakfast series in Melbourne.

Nova Entertainment announced on Friday that the broadcasters will be making the jump, replacing their network's current breakfast show team Ben Harvey, Liam Stapleton and Belle Jackson.

“I am beyond excited to join the Nova family,” Lauren, 41, said in a statement.

'I have been a fan of the channel for a long time and to become a member of Nova 100 is truly a dream come true.'

Lauren Phillips and Jase Hawkins have had their radio careers saved after they were brutally dumped from Melbourne's KIIS FM last year. Both shown

She added: 'I've made the most of a few months off but my plans to become a professional dog walker are now on hold and I'm so ready to get back to work with Jase here in Melbourne.'

Meanwhile, Jase, 42, said: “I'm ready to have a job again. I'm even more thrilled that we can join Nova.”

'I have always wanted to be part of this network throughout my career, it suits Loz and me perfectly. So I'm sorry Nova, we're never leaving again,” he added.

The radio duo, who were replaced by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson during their historic $200 million 10-year radio expansion into the Victorian capital, have been picked up by Nova 100 as part of a new breakfast line-up

Nova Entertainment announced on Friday that the broadcasters will be making the jump, replacing their network's current breakfast show team Ben Harvey, Liam Stapleton and Belle Jackson. All depicted

'Melbourne, we're back! So join us and come to Nova.'

Nova 100's current breakfast team, Ben, Liam & Belle, will host a brand new national show, Late Drive, airing weekdays from 6pm to 8pm.

Jase and Lauren taped their final KISS FM show on December 1, while ARN released a statement earlier this year revealing that Byron Cooke will remain on KIIS 101.1 all summer before Kyle and Jackie O travel south.

In November, Sydney-based radio duo Kyle and Jackie 'O' signed a record-breaking 10-year, $200 million deal that will keep them on air until 2034.

An ARN spokesperson confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the deal for the Sydney duo meant their work friends Jase Hawkins and Lauren Phillips were unemployed and their Melbourne breakfast show ended in December.

Jase (left) and Lauren (right) were out of jobs and their Melbourne breakfast show ended in December

Lauren broke down in tears as she announced the news to her listeners, sobbing that she “didn't want to say goodbye to Melbourne.”

Jase and Lauren's show was successful for KIIS FM, attracting new listeners to the station and ranking third in the Melbourne market behind Fox FM's Fifi Fev & Nick and GOLD104.3's Christian O'Connell.

In a statement celebrating the historic contract extension, Sandilands said: “Fans of the show will be pleased to hear that this 10-year deal is the longest radio deal in Australian history.

KIIS FM presenters Kyle and Jackie 'O' have confirmed their historic new radio deal, which will see them expand from Sydney to Victoria's capital

“Love us or loathe us, Jackie and I will continue with our politically incorrect nonsense for a long time.”

He added: “We would like to thank the listeners. Staff. All clients. Even senior management, I'll give a nod to that. They've actually done something brilliant.'

The duo will dominate markets beyond their Sydney audience, expanding their reach into Melbourne for the first time.

It has been reported that a unique clause in the contract gives Sandilands the ability to broadcast the show 'anywhere in the world'.

The shock jock has often worked on the KIIS FM show from Los Angeles and other places, so the new contract will give him the flexibility to continue broadcasting wherever he wants.

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The White Lotus casts Julian Kostov to replace Milos Bikovic, who was fired from season 3 after pressure from Ukraine over his pro-Putin stance

Sabir Ansary — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 18:53:15 +0000

Julian Kostov has been picked to replace Milos Bikovic in season 3 of The White Lotus after the original season 3 star was fired following pressure from Ukraine over his pro-Putin stance.

The 34-year-old Bulgarian actor has been added to the cast to portray a Russian character, just days after 36-year-old Serbian actor Bikovic was fired by HBO.

Season three will soon begin filming around Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, while the anthology series will follow a new group of guests at another White Lotus hotel, this time based in Thailand.

Kostov joins quite an all-star cast, including Leslie Bibb, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Carrie Coon, Francesca Corney and returning season 1 cast member Natasha Rothwell.

He previously starred in 2017's Another Mother's Son, 2020's Search And Destroy and Code Red?

Julian Kostov (pictured in March 2019) has been chosen to replace Milos Bikovic in season 3 of The White Lotus after the original season 3 star was fired following pressure from Ukraine over his pro-Putin stance

Bikovic, 36, called the rescheduling decision a “disturbing precedent” in an Instagram post on Saturday and claimed he is the victim of a “targeted campaign”

The ministry published a video of Biković (photo, right) shaking hands with Vladimir Putin (photo, left) during a ceremony where he received a top cultural prize

The third season of the hit TV show The White Lotus will air in early 2025

Meanwhile, Bikovic recently broke his silence on his dismissal over his pro-Putin stance, saying the move set a “disturbing precedent” by the network.

He was set to star in the blockbuster show's highly anticipated third season, until Ukraine complained about his political beliefs.

HBO, which surrendered to Ukraine, fired him.

In an Instagram post Saturday, he claims he is the victim of a “targeted campaign.”

Biković was believed to have been cast in the role of Russian Valentin, a charming yogi and the hotel's 'Life Enhancement Mentor', Deadline reports.

'I grew up in a war-torn country. At the age of 11, I spent days and nights in shelters while my home country and hometown were bombed. I could never wish such devastation on anyone,” the Serbian actor wrote on Instagram.

Bikovic said he wished active conflicts everywhere would “stop and the principles of love would prevail.”

“Today a targeted campaign has been unleashed against me, seemingly as an external maneuver to influence decisions that could set a disturbing precedent that overshadows the essence of artistic freedom,” Biković wrote.

Bulgarian actor Kostov (pictured in London in March 2017), 34, previously starred in 2017's Another Mother's Son, 2020's Search And Destroy and 2013's Code Red?

He said: 'The result of such a story is the triumph of absurdity and the defeat of art.'

In his speech, Bikovic said: “I was honored to be chosen to be part of White Lotus, a TV series that I hold in high regard and which includes colleagues whom I deeply respect .'

“However, my participation is not possible for reasons beyond art, and I will not bow to any narrative that seeks to compromise my integrity,” he added.

This comes just weeks after Ukraine in January snubbed HBO for casting the pro-Putin actor, who was awarded a medal of honor by the despot himself for his services to the arts and who has consistently supported his invasive actions against Ukraine and Crimea.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry brutally called out HBO for its decision to cast Serbian actor Miloš Biković in the upcoming third season of the hit series.

At the time, the ministry published a video of Biković shaking hands with Vladimir Putin during a ceremony where he received a top cultural award.

He was awarded the Pushkin Medal, awarded to both Russian citizens and foreigners for achievements in the fields of arts and culture, education, humanities and literature, in 2018 at a ceremony at the Kremlin, and in 2021 he was granted Russian citizenship.

Biković, a citizen of Serbia and Russia, said at the time: “It is a great honor to say today: Russia is my homeland.”

HBO has fired a pro-Putin actor from the third season of the Emmy-nominated hit show 'White Lotus' after pressure from the Ukrainian government

Biković is said to have been cast in the role of Russian Valentin, a charming yogi and the hotel's 'Life Enhancement Mentor'

Ukraine lashed out at HBO for casting the pro-Putin actor

He added that he was “an active member of Russian society.”

A graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of the Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, Biković has acted almost exclusively in dozens of Russian or Serbian TV, film and theater productions throughout his twenty-year career.

His role in White Lotus, created, written and directed by Mike White, and executive produced by White, David Bernad and Mark Kamine, would be Biković's first in a Western production.

He is represented by Chris Prapha and Deanna Russo Clark at Artist International Group and Marina Leonova at SV Casting in Russia.

AFP reported that Biković claimed in 2019 that he had been denied entry to Ukraine for national security reasons.

Ukraine claims he supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine and says he has filmed TV shows in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Putin's forces in 2014.

“Dear HBO, do you really support genocide?” they said, putting pressure on the network to drop the actor.

A resurfaced clip showed Biković telling a reporter that he supported the annexation. To a broad question about Crimea, he said: “It's different from the fact that Russians live there.”

When asked if this was enough reason for Russia to “take it away and assign it to itself,” the actor said:[Crimeans] do it yourself, like the referendum.'

Biković was referring to a heavily contested referendum that took place after Russia invaded Crimea, previously a part of Ukraine that was largely autonomous of the nation.

Russian forces captured key cities in Crimea in late February 2014, following pro-Russian demonstrations that led to the ouster of then-President Viktor Yanukovych.

The referendum, held after Russian troops arrived, officially resulted in a 97 percent vote in favor of integration with mainland Russia, based on a claimed 83 percent turnout.

A graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of the Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, Biković has almost exclusively starred in Russian or Serbian TV, film and theater productions.

But international observers said the referendum, which was used to officially justify the formal annexation of Crimea on March 18, 2014, just two days after the referendum, had been widely manipulated.

Military observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which helps monitor elections around the world to ensure their validity, said they were forced to turn away from Crimea after Russian forces fired warning shots at had fired at them.

The UN also heavily criticized Russia at the time for encouraging the presence of paramilitaries and unidentifiable soldiers around election booths.

A US official said at the time that there was “concrete evidence” that referendum ballots had arrived pre-marked.

Just eight years later, Russia used a similar claim to protect ethnic Russians as justification for invading the rest of Ukraine.

Dailymaill.com has contacted HBO and Biković's agents at Artist International Group for comment.

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Seven former employees of Elon Musk's SpaceX claim company executives discriminated against women, joked about sexual harassment and fired employees when they complained

Albert Elence — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 16:25:17 +0000

A group of seven former employees of Elon Musk's SpaceX say the rocket and satellite company discriminated against women, joking about sexual harassment and even firing those who complained, a new civil rights complaint alleges.

According to the complaint, first reported by Bloomberg the employees were fired by the company in 2022 after a letter critical of Musk circulated through SpaceX.

The employees allege that during their time at the company they faced inappropriate behavior and sexual jokes from managers, who often quoted Musk.

“Basically, anything that would make a freshman laugh was fair game in large parts of the company,” said one of the fired employees, Tom Moline.

The group says SpaceX violated California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, which protects workers who are critical of their management and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

The California Civil Rights Department first contacted SpaceX about the allegations in January

The SpaceX logo is displayed on a building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on May 26, 2020

The California Civil Rights Department first contacted SpaceX about the allegations in January.

In October, SpaceX was sued by a female former employee who alleged the company pays and promotes women and minorities less than white men.

Engineer Paige Holland-Thielen, one of the plaintiffs in the new civil rights lawsuit, told Bloomberg that from the moment she was hired by SpaceX in 2018, she felt discriminated against because she was considered a “level 1” employee, despite being had more experience than men who were given higher roles.

Even after being promoted, Holland-Thielen claims she was left out of meetings and decisions because of her gender.

When she complained that a male colleague was taking credit for her work, Holland-Thielen said she was subjected to a performance review in which she was told she was “too emotional” and that she needed to be “more humble.”

She claims she once tried to complain to a manager about a co-worker's inappropriate behavior, but the manager made a sexual joke when they saw downward-pointing data on her computer and reportedly said, “How can we take it higher, get higher, get higher? '

Paige Holland-Thielen (above) is among the complainants who say she was regularly discriminated against at SpaceX because of her gender

“Basically, anything that would make a freshman laugh was fair game in large parts of the company,” said one of the fired employees, Tom Moline.

The civil rights complaint also states that Musk posted content to Twitter that workers considered inappropriate, and that they could not easily avoid it because he also used the platform to make important company announcements.

The complainants say the situation reached a boiling point for them when Musk was accused of sexually harassing a SpaceX flight attendant in 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the company denies the claims and that an HR director said something like, “I have never been sexually harassed.” [sic]”I must not be warm enough.”

Disappointed with the way the company handled the accusation, the employees decided to write an open letter that they said led to their dismissal. The letter said Musk's behavior was “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”

Moline claims he was one of several employees who was subsequently called into a meeting and fired.

“They informed me that my employment was being terminated because they determined that I was responsible for conceiving, writing and distributing the open letter,” Molina said in the complaint.

In October, former SpaceX engineer Ashley Foltz filed a proposed class action in the state of California last year, saying the company paid her $92,000 a year, while men with similar duties and qualifications were paid up to $115,000.

California law prohibits employers from paying employees less than co-workers who perform “substantially similar work” based on their gender, race or ethnicity.

Foltz said she discovered the discrepancy when SpaceX posted job openings for engineering positions with a salary range of $95,000 to $115,000.

This year, a pay transparency law went into effect in California, requiring employers to include salary ranges in job postings.

Last November, the ex-employees took the complaints to the National Labor Law Office and the agency ruled that SpaceX had indeed violated federal labor law by firing the workers, who are mostly engineers.

SpaceX subsequently sued the agency, arguing that the ruling would damage its reputation and ability to recruit talent.

Copy of SpaceX executives' scathing open letter

An open letter to SpaceX executives,

In light of the recent allegations against our CEO and his public disregard for the situation, we would like to provide feedback on how these events are impacting our company's reputation and, in turn, our mission. Employees across the spectrum of gender, ethnicity, seniority and technical roles contributed to this letter. We believe it is imperative to maintain an honest and open dialogue with each other to effectively achieve our company's primary goals together: making SpaceX a great place to work for everyone, and making humans a multiplanetary species .

As SpaceX employees, we are expected to challenge established processes, innovate quickly to solve complex problems as a team, and use failures as learning opportunities. The commitment to these ideals is fundamental to our identity and at the heart of how we have redefined our industry. But despite all our technical achievements, SpaceX is failing to apply these principles to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion as an equal priority across the company, resulting in a workplace culture that remains firmly rooted in the status quo.

Individuals and groups of employees at SpaceX have made significant efforts beyond their technical scope to make the company a more inclusive space through conference recruiting, open forums, feedback to leadership, outreach and more. However, we feel an uneven burden to carry these efforts as the company has not applied the appropriate urgency and resources to the problem in a manner consistent with our approach to critical path engineering projects. To be clear, recent events are not isolated incidents; they are emblematic of a broader culture that fails many of the people who make SpaceX's extraordinary achievements possible. As industry leaders, we have a unique responsibility to address this.

Elon's behavior in the public sphere is often a source of distraction and embarrassment for us, especially in recent weeks. As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is considered the face of SpaceX: every tweet Elon sends is a de facto public statement from the company. It is critical to make it clear to our teams and our potential talent pool that his message does not reflect our work, our mission or our values.

SpaceX's current systems and culture do not meet its stated values, as many employees continue to experience uneven enforcement of our oft-repeated 'No Asshole' and 'Zero Tolerance' policies. This must change. As a starting point, we propose the following categories of action points, the details of which we would like to discuss personally with the management team within a month:

Publicly address and condemn Elon's harmful Twitter behavior. SpaceX must quickly and explicitly separate itself from Elon's personal brand.

Hold all leaders equally accountable for making SpaceX a great place to work for everyone. Be critical of issues that prevent employees from fully performing their work and reaching their potential, by taking specific and sustainable actions that are adequately resourced, transparent and treated with the same rigor and urgency as identifying reasons for escape after a hardware abnormality.

Define and respond uniformly to all forms of unacceptable behavior. Clearly define what exactly is meant by SpaceX's “no asshole” and “zero tolerance” policies and enforce them consistently. SpaceX must create secure avenues for reporting and maintain clear repercussions for any unacceptable behavior, whether from the CEO or an employee starting on day one.

We attach great importance to SpaceX's mission to make humanity multiplanetary. But more importantly: we care about each other. The collaboration we need to make life multiplanetary is incompatible with a culture that treats workers as consumable resources. Our unique position requires that we consider how our actions today will shape the experiences of individuals beyond our planet. Is the culture we foster now the culture we want to bring to Mars and beyond?

We have taken steps in that direction, but there is still so much more to achieve.

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US kills 34 'Iran-backed' militants in 'a taste of what's to come': Photos show aftermath of Biden's revenge strike in which B1 bombers fired 125 missiles at 85 targets in Syria and Iraq in just 30 minutes

Albert Elence — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 15:49:24 +0000

An Iraqi militia official hinted at a desire to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East following US retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria.

The comments come after photos emerged showing the aftermath of Biden's revenge strike, in which US bombers carried out strikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria.

The Iraqi headquarters of the Hashd al-Shaabi militia, also known as the People's Mobilization Committee, is in ruins after the attacks.

Other images show buildings reduced to rubble after 125 bombs were dropped within 30 minutes on Friday evening in revenge for the deaths of three US soldiers.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 18 people were killed in the attacks in Syria, while Iraq said the strikes killed another 16 people.

Hussein al-Mosawi, a spokesman for Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the main Iranian-backed militias, said: '[Washington] must understand that every action provokes a reaction.'

In a conciliatory tone, al-Mosawi added that “we do not want to escalate or increase regional tensions.”

President Joe Biden and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have both suggested that this targeted retaliation was just the beginning, as eyes now turn to Tehran over a possible retaliation.

A look at the destruction after US warplanes carried out an airstrike on Hashd al-Shaabi's headquarters in Al-Qa'im city of Anbar, Iraq, on February 3, 2024

The Pentagon unleashed a volley of missiles on Iranian-backed militias on Friday evening. Here you can see the ruins of a building in Iraq.

A destroyed building is pictured at the site of a US airstrike in Al-Qaim, Iraq, February 3, 2024

Syria has warned that the attacks have “fueled the conflict in the Middle East in a very dangerous way.”

With tensions high in light of the war between Israel and Hamas, both Damascus and Baghdad joined Tehran in accusing Washington of undermining the stability of the region.

The New York Times reported that Washington sees the Iranians choosing to de-escalate the situation rather than trying to engage in a shooting contest.

The Iraqi government confirmed that the attacks killed 16 people, including civilians, and claimed that the US government had not informed them of their attack plan.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and Iraq war veteran, said CNN: 'I think it's a very strong deterrent. We say: listen, we don't want to go to war. But have a taste of what we can do.

'Please. Eighty-five targets. And I think that's part of the balancing act that we have to do right now.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said the overnight operation was “yet another strategic mistake by the US government, which will have no other result than an intensification of tension and instability.”

Hamas, whose unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel has fueled the current spiral of violence in the region, accused Washington of adding “fuel to the fire.”

US-Iraq relations have deteriorated in recent months after Washington carried out earlier airstrikes on Iranian-backed groups in Iraq in response to a wave of attacks on US-led forces since the start of the Gaza war last October.

Images shared on social media showed a series of explosions in the city of Al-Qaim: the first explosions from the US bombs, and then the secondary explosions from the exploding munitions.

Explosions are seen in the Iraqi city of Al-Qaim: the site is believed to be a weapons depot for Al Hashed al Shabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)

A plane is seen taking off in a video on X shared by CENTCOM – US Central Command

Al-Qaim Mayor Turki Al-Mahalawi said the attacks hit three houses used as weapons depots by the PMU: al Hashed al Shabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

The PMU is backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is believed by Washington to be responsible for many of the 165 attacks carried out on US sites and personnel in the region since October 7.

The United States has about 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of an international coalition against the Islamic State, a jihadist organization that once controlled parts of both countries.

Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi armed forces, said the attacks were a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”

“The city of Al-Qaim and the Iraqi border areas are being subjected to air strikes by US aircraft, at a time when Iraq is doing everything it can to ensure the stability of the region,” Rasool said, according to CNN.

“These attacks are considered a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, making them a threat that could drag Iraq and the region into undesirable consequences. The consequences will be disastrous for security and stability in Iraq and the region.”

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said U.S. warplanes “struck more than 85 targets at seven facilities used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the militant groups they sponsor,” three of them in Iraq and four in Syria.

In a statement, President Biden said: “Our response began today. It will take place at the times and places of our choosing.”

Two B-1 bombers flew from the US for the mission and hit seven facilities – three in Iraq and four in Syria – linked to the IRGC and Iranian-backed militias

Sergeant William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia (left) and Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, were killed in the drone strike on a US air base in Jordan

Specialist Breonna Moffett, 23, from Savannah, Georgia, has been identified as one of the soldiers killed in the drone strike

Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official in the Trump administration, told The New York Times that the US strikes appeared to target Iranian supply lines, which run through Iraq and Syria.

Mulroy said he believed it was unlikely that many Iranian soldiers would have been killed because Iran had time to move its personnel out of harm's way – likely a deliberate move by the US to avoid unnecessary escalation.

The New York Times reported that a site in the Iraqi city of Akashat was also hit, describing the target as a PMU command headquarters.

The PMU is just part of a coalition of Iranian-backed groups that call themselves the “Axis of Resistance” and claim they are attacking US targets in response to Washington's support for Israeli action in Gaza.

Analysts say Tehran is taking advantage of the chaos and warn that the US must walk a fine line between responding to the deaths of the three soldiers and plunging into war with Iran.

The bodies of three slain American soldiers were returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware

Sims said the US was “very confident” in the accuracy of its attacks, saying they had been a success.

He said: Early indications are that we hit exactly what we wanted to hit, with a number of secondary explosions linked to the ammunition and logistics sites. We know there are militants using these locations.

“We carried out these attacks tonight with the understanding that there would likely be casualties associated with people who were in those facilities.”

Senator Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he supported the strikes.

“This was a strong, proportionate response,” said Reed, a Democrat representing Rhode Island.

“In fact, the 85 targets hit tonight mark a larger number than the previous administration. Iran's proxy forces in Syria and Iraq have been dealt a major blow, and Iran-affiliated militias in the Middle East must understand that they too will be held accountable.”

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Charmed's Alyssa Milano is addressing claims that she fired Shannen Doherty

Sabir Ansary — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 11:14:07 +0000

Alyssa Milano talks about Holly Marie Combs' claim she got Shannen Doherty Fired from Charmed.

“I feel like I need to address the elephant in the room,” Milano, 51, said during a Charmed panel on Friday, February 2 Megacon Orlando. “You all are Charmed fans, I knew this would come up somehow. I want to be very thoughtful about how I respond to all of this.

Milano was referring to Doherty, 52, and Combs' December 2023 podcast episode “Let's Be Clear,” in which the pair spoke candidly about the behind-the-scenes drama of the WB series and claimed Milano was behind Doherty being fired from the show.

“I'll just say I'm sad. I don't think it's really that I'm sad about myself or my life, or the way it does or doesn't affect my life. I'm saddest for the fans,” she said. “I am most saddened that a show that meant so much to so many people has been tainted by a toxicity that continues to this day, almost a quarter century later.”

The actress admitted that she was also angry that others “couldn't get past” the drama and take in what they accomplished in eight seasons. While Milano understands that Doherty and Combs, 50, still have to deal with their feelings, she explained that she also had to work on processing her own emotions.

“When I think back to that time, it was hard for me, and I've worked super hard in my life for the past 25 years to heal all my traumas,” she said. “And that's not just all the trauma I experienced while shooting, but all my trauma. I have worked very hard to heal the pieces because I understand that hurting people hurt people and my intention is to be a healed person who helps people heal.

Gregg DeGuire/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images

Milano said she wishes she and her co-stars could get on stage to do a panel together for their fans, but she doesn't know what else she can do to mend the trio's broken bond.

“I think I've been very upfront and taken responsibility and apologized for whatever role I played in the situation,” she admitted. “I have been very candid about that. I don't know how else to solve it.”

Although the drama is “heartbreaking and difficult” for Milano, she is more angry for the fans.

“This is the awkward part that I wish was different,” she concluded. “So we apologize to everyone who loves us anyway.”

Milano played the role of Phoebe Halliwell in all eight seasons of the supernatural series, which ran from 1996 to 2008. Combs and Doherty played her sisters Piper and Prue, respectively. During the season 3 finale, Doherty's character was abruptly killed off and replaced by Rose McGowen's Paige in season 4. At the time, Spelling Television claimed that Doherty left the show to pursue other projects. Although Doherty did not give a clear reason at the time, she hinted that there was “drama” on set.

In December 2023, Combs and Doherty made headlines after Combs claimed Milano was responsible for Doherty's departure.

'It wasn't our intention [fire Shannen]but we have been backed into this corner,” she reminded producer Jonathan Levin tell her. “We're actually in this position where it's one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] it's her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile work environment.”

Friday marks the first time that Milano has addressed the accusations of dismissal. While she did not confirm or deny her involvement in Doherty's departure, she previously said she “took responsibility for a lot” of the issues between her and Doherty while speaking to Entertainment tonight in 2021.

“I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling like I was competing, rather than it being about that sisterhood that the show was so much about,” she told the outlet at the time. “And I feel guilty about my part in it.”

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