‘John Derringer Situation’ Remains Fluid
• The close-knit Toronto radio community continues to reel from the mounting allegations of verbal abuse and harassment against John Derringer, the longtime host of Derringer in the Morning on Corus Mainstream Rock CILQ (Q107)/Toronto, who was suspended this week — and his morning show page scrubbed from the station website — after his former co-host Jennifer Valentyne posted a 12-minute video to social media in which she described experiencing years of verbal abuse and gender discrimination by an unnamed co-worker, later identified as Derringer, who had anchored mornings on Q107 since 2001.
CP24 reports that similar bullying allegations were also leveled against Derringer by former radio personality Erin Davis, who described his behavior “the best kept secret in radio.” And Jacqui Delaney, who worked on Derringer’s show in 2002, quit after only two months because of the “toxic” atmosphere. Delaney says she had been Derringer’s third co-host in a short period of time, something management acknowledged was a “problem” even prior to her arriving. After her initial complaints, they moved her to a separate booth, but the verbal abuse persisted at a level Delaney says she’d never experienced before.
Delaney said, “I left with the understanding that they would be keeping an eye on him and keeping him in check, and that they would be taking steps to make sure this didn’t happen to anybody else. That’s why I was so appalled when I saw Jen’s video, I couldn’t believe that all these years later, she was describing the exact same behavior that I had seen.”
Davis says she believes Corus allowed Derringer to continue because “If you take him off the air, you’re going to lose money. And in the end, all of the co-hosts, the revolving door of females who sat in the chair opposite him, were eminently expendable, and weren’t going to say anything, because (the company) would always take Derringer’s side.”
The CBC notes that Maureen Holloway, who was Derringer’s co-host from 2010 to 2015, also called Derringer a “bully” and not just with women. She accused him of aggressive behavior, of flying into rages and of giving people the silent treatment when angry. Holloway said Derringer’s behavior is one isolated example but said gender-based discrimination is rampant in the industry.
Meanwhile, Toronto Sun columnist Liz Braun wonders what, if anything will happen inside Corus as the result of these latest allegations. Stay tuned.
