Audio By Carbonatix
It sure is a bummer Local 10 fired lead news anchor Charles Perez for reasons that might or might not be due to his sexuality, but we’re not sure what to make of Perez’s all-out media assault on his former employer.
That’s not to say he should shut up and be quiet while his discrimination suits works its way though the system, but if you talk too much, something needlessly controversial might slip out of your mouth.
Perez spoke with The Advocate in an interview that was posted online Tuesday and might have angered not only Local 10 but also his agent.
Local 10 maintains that Perez’s demotion and eventual termination were not motivated by his sexuality. In fact, as they keep reminding us, news director Bill Pohovey, Perez’s former boss, is a gay man himself.
So Perez rattled off this quote to The Advocate:
I think [Pohovey is] a company man. I think if you had to label Bill a gay man or a company man, you would pick company man. I also talked to my agent about it. My agent said to me, “You know, Charles, you got to remember, there were Jews in the 1930s who sold out other Jews so they would stay good with the guys in power.” Never changes. It’s sad, but it’s true.
And here’s another point on that note. Bill is somebody who, with respect to his privacy, he’s pretty known in this community as being the gay person who’s never been out. So I completely suspect that the company said to him, “We better put you out there to neutralize this.” I do not, for anything, think that Bill would be the guy who says, “Well, let me put out a statement as a gay man.” I mean, most people who know him fell over when they read that.
Problem is, Perez’s agent (something of a legend, I guess, in the exciting field of representing TV news people) tells Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald he doesn’t remember comparing Pohovey to a Jew who sold out his own during the Holocaust. Then again, who would want to acknowledge that remark in public?
When news happens, Miami New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If Miami New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
“He’s a fucking politician at the end of the day,” Perez says to Rothaus about his agent.
And fucking politicians, the good ones anyway, know when they should maybe hold their tongue during a battle.
