Barbara Fedida Robin Roberts Allegations

Now that’s racist…

Source: Heidi Gutman / Getty

An ABC News exec is on leave after she allegedly made clownish comments towards “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts and subjected employees to an uncomfortable work environment. A new report from the Huffington Post’s Yashar Ali has revealed that Roberts and others at ABC were subjected to racism and toxicity via executive Barbara Fedida who’s currently on administrative leave.

In the report that took six months to compile and used 34 sources comprised of former and current staff, who spoke on the record, Fedida’s abhorrent behavior was documented. Employees alleged that the exec was an “abusive figure” who was sexist and called other women “c—s.” A witness also told the HuffPo that she called “The View” host Sunny Hostin “low rent” and made rancidly racist remarks about Robin Roberts.

During a 2018 contract negotiation where Roberts asked for a pay raise, a peeved Fedida reportedly made a slave reference towards the veteran GMA host.

“Fedida then asked what more Roberts could want and said it wasn’t as if the network was asking Roberts to ‘pick cotton,’ according to one source who was in the room and witnessed the exchange. Two other sources who were not present but were told about the incident soon afterward confirmed the account to HuffPost.”

THE. GALL.

Source: Jason Merritt / Getty

The embattled exec has since responded to the report and she’s denying everything, calling the claims “misleading.”

“Throughout my career, I have been a champion for increased diversity in network news. Building a news division where everyone can thrive has been my life’s mission. I am proud of my decades of work of hiring, supporting and promoting talented journalists of color. And, unlike these heartbreaking and incredibly misleading claims about me, that track record is well-documented and undeniable.”

Meanwhile, ABC News is confirming that they’ve launched an internal investigation into the “deeply disturbing allegations.”

“There are deeply disturbing allegations in this story that we need to investigate, and we have placed Barbara Fedida on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough and complete investigation,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement regarding the allegations.

“These allegations do not represent the values and culture of ABC News, where we strive to make everyone feel respected in a thriving, diverse and inclusive workplace.”

SMH…

Over the weekend GMA co-anchor Dan Harris, Eva Pilgrim, and Whit Johnson showed their support for Robin on-air.

“We here at the desk also want to make something clear, which is that we express our respect and our affection for our friend and our colleague Robin Roberts,” Harris told viewers on Sunday morning.

What do YOU make of these allegations against this ABC News exec???