Indy Radio: Kelly Vaughn Files Suit Against Radio One

Kelly Vaughn

Radio personality Kelly Vaughn alleges in a federal discrimination lawsuit that Radio One, which operates the WTLC-AM and FM stations, showed preferential treatment to a male co-worker by firing her but retaining him after they worked on an outside project, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.

In the lawsuit filed June 6 in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Indiana, Vaughn says she conceived of a program featuring WTLC personality Amos Brown and local political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz prior to being hired by Radio One in 2012 and working at the WTLC stations.

Once “The Amos & Abdul Show” aired locally on WHMB-TV Channel 40, management at WTLC fired Vaughn for working on the show’s development, the suit claims. However, Brown, who allegedly helped develop the show, was not fired.

Both Vaughn and Brown are African-American. But “preferential treatment was accorded to an African-American male by Radio One,” because Brown was retained by the station, according to the suit.

Vaughn’s suit requests lost wages, benefits and other compensation from Radio One, as well as unspecified compensatory, consequential and punitive damages.

In a Feb. 11 response to Vaughn’s EEOC charge, Radio One called her allegations “plainly fabricated.”

“Her employment with Radio One was terminated due to violation of company policy and impermissible conflicts of interest, which Mrs. Vaughn refused to remedy after being provided ample time to do so,” according to Radio One’s response.

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