Winnipeg Radio: Dave Wheeler Sues Rogers Media For $1.4M

Dave Wheeler

Former Winnipeg radio host Dave Wheeler, fired by Rogers Media after controversial on-air comments he made about transgender people,  is suing his old employer for more than $1.4 million, according to the CBC.

In a lawsuit filed with the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, former CITI 92.1 FM host Dave Wheeler claims the station and parent company Rogers Media violated his employment contract and publicly defamed him when he was fired.

"Rogers has recklessly, unfairly and intentionally harmed Wheeler's reputation and has acted in a high-handed, wanton and unfair manner," says the lawsuit, which goes on to suggest Rogers encouraged Wheeler to be "edgy" and "controversial."

He is asking for just under $1.4 million in lost wages and $80,000 in bonuses, plus pension and other benefits he would have received if his 2017-22 contract hadn't been cancelled, court documents say.

In July, he was fired from his position as host of Wheeler in the Morning for his part in an on-air conversation about actor Scarlett Johansson pulling out of the upcoming film Rub and Tug.

Johansson was cast to play a trans man and faced backlash for accepting the role despite not being transgender.

Wheeler took issue with the pressure put on Johansson to withdraw. During the segment, he compared trans people to actors "who pretend to be different things."


In a Facebook message to a woman who reached out to Wheeler in response, he defended and expanded on the statement.

"If someone is born human. And they pretend to be a dog. It is not right to agree with them for the sake of their feelings," said an image of the conversation that was posted online.

A chorus of voices called for his firing and a number of local business sponsors pulled out of advertising with 92.1.

In response, Rogers terminated its relationship with Wheeler, who signed with 92.1 in 2012.