Fired Gay Sports Radio Show Host Seth Dunlap Takes to Facebook, Cries 'Shame!'

Openly gay sports radio program host Seth Dunlap - who was fired from New Orleans station WWL in the wake of a homophobic tweet that hurled a slur at him, but which WWL and its parent company claim Dunlap posted himself as part of an attempted shakedown - took to Facebook on Dec. 17 for the first time since shortly after the September 10 incident to deny any involvement in the tweet and declare his support for LGBTQ victims of workplace harassment, reports Barrett Sports Media.

Dunlap also aimed squarely at those who have excoriated him, posting, "If you believed anything said by a company with billions in assets, unchecked media access, & multiple direct connections to local law enforcement...then shame on you."

The case has drawn comparisons to that of actor Jussie Smollett. Like Dunlap, Smollett - an actor who previously starred in the FOX drama "Empire" - has been accused of fabricating a homophobic attack against himself for his own purposes. In Smollett's case, the claim is that two men physically assaulted the actor in Chicago early this year; Smollett claimed that the assailants poured some sort of liquid over him, hung a noose around his neck, and warned him that he was in "MAGA country," a reference to Donald Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again."

After police conducted an investigation, Smollett was accused of paying two brothers to carry out the attack. An array of criminal charges were leveled at the actor, before abruptly being dismissed; the case being dropped was in itself so controversial that a special prosecutor was appointed. Allegations suggest that the actor was seeking attention and a boost to his career.

The career fallout was markedly different from any such result, however, with Smollett being written out of the final season of the drama. Smollett continues to insist upon his innocence and the veracity of his claims.

Comparisons between the two cases are perhaps inevitable, no matter how one views the incidents and the allegations surrounding them. As EDGE reported last September, the offensive tweet abasing Dunlap was posted in response to this comment from Dunlap about football game:

"Which of these 5 'overreactions' isn't actually an overreaction?"

Someone at WWL radio used the station's own Twitter feed to respond: "That you're a fag"

Dunlap subsequently took leave from his hosting duties.

WWL Radio claimed that Dunlap demanded almost $2 million in the wake of the tweet, saying if his demand was not met he would embark on a "scorched earth" campaign against the station.

WWL Radio also said that its investigation identified Dunlap's cell phone as the source from which the offensive tweet was sent. Dunlap denies this, and his attorney maintains that Dunlap had no access to the station's Twitter account. The attorney also says that the station involved law enforcement only after offering Dunlap much less money than the host asked for.

Media reports say that Dunlap was having money problems with credit card debt and personal loans. New Orleans police are reportedly looking at the case as one of "possible extortion," the article said.

But Dunlap maintains that the tweet was only the last in a years-long series of homophobic episodes of abuse he endured while in the station's employ. Turning the conversation toward the issue of anti-gay workplace harassment and discrimination, Dunlap added in his Dec. 17 post:

I remained quiet for years for fear of retribution. Retribution came. No longer am I afraid.

Stepping back for a few months has reinforced the brutal – nearly unchecked – homophobia, racism, and misogyny far too many people work under. In part, because I didn't speak up publicly sooner, I feel complicit in this.

Dunlap went on to post:

Too many people have been bullied, shamed, and silenced on many issues that are intensely personal, yet also broadly critical. This is the impossible dilemma too many LGBTQ+ people still wrestle with daily; speak out or risk your career and/or life stability.

Over the next weeks and months, I hope to share not only my story but, more importantly, the stories of others. What I went through publicly goes on every day to countless other people who get no media coverage, nor no resources they can fall back on.

Dunlap praised GLTBQ advocacy groups GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, and The Trevor Project, and went on to volunteer himself as a sympathetic ear for those who might need it:

My DM's are also open for anybody who needs an ear or would like to share their story.

LGBTQ sports news outlet Outsports recalled that prior to the tweeted slur, Dunlap came out publicly in response to New Orleans Saints quarterback Brees Dunlap making a video for the anti-LGBTQ organization Focus on the Family. The radio host called the quarterback's participation in the video "hurtful" and "emotionally debilitating."

Noted Outsports: "What Dunlap did not mention in his tweet early Tuesday is that, so far, he has not been charged with any crime. Not in a court of law, at least; mainstream media reports, however, have leaned heavily toward convicting him in the court of public opinion."

Last month, a New Orleans judge refused to issue an arrest warrant for Dunlap, saying that the evidence presented against the former radio host did not justify the felony charge of extortion that the police were seeking.