Last week’s exit of ‘Hurricane’ Dave Smith from his position as VP/Operations & Programming for Radio One Atlanta was due to a lawsuit alleging multiple instances of sexual harassment.
While Smith told RadioFacts.com that a “misunderstanding led to his dismissal”, it was the filing of a lawsuit by former “Hot 107.9” WHTA evening host Feleg ‘Shorty Mack’ Abraham that led to his firing.
Abraham, who now hosts middays at Davis Broadcasting Hip-Hop “Foxie 105” 104.9 WFXE Columbus GA, worked at WHTA from December 2016 until quitting in February 2018. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the lawsuit alleges that on May 22, 2017, Smith trapped her in his office, groped her, took his penis out and demanded she perform oral sex on him and suffered unspecified injuries escaping his grasp.
Abraham also claims intentional infliction of emotional distress by Smith, negligent infliction of emotional distress by Urban One, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, assault and battery and false imprisonment.
Urban One EVP/Chief Administrative Officer Karen Wishart released the following statement regarding the lawsuit and allegations:
The allegations made by Feleg Abraham against Dave Smith, both former employees of Urban One, are unsettling. As a company founded by an African-American woman with a long history of empowering women in the workplace, Urban One takes these allegations very seriously. After Ms. Abraham left Urban One to take a new job, we were notified of her complaint and conducted a thorough, independent investigation. In light of the ongoing litigation, we cannot provide further comment on this matter.
