NJ Radio: WKXW's Bill Spadea Facing Defamation Lawsuit

Bill Spadea

Radio talk host Bill Spadea at WKXW 101.5 FM faces potential legal trouble after a Morris, NJ child psychologist brought on as a guest to speak about masking children accused him of defamation after Spadea called him a "child abuser" and "crackpot" during one of his broadcasts.

Steven Tobias, a child psychologist and director and owner of the Center for Child and Family Development, filed a lawsuit on this week in Morris County Superior Court against Spadea, NJ 101.5 FM and Townsquare Media, the radio station's parent company. 

Tobias was a frequent guest on the radio station during the COVID-19 pandemic, but never was a guest on Spadea’s show. Spadea hosts The Bill Spadea Show on NJ 101.5 from 6 to 10 a.m. Spadea is a well-known conservative media personality with some controversial opinions, including those on vaccines. He was banned from LinkedIn for spreading misinformation on vaccines in October 2021 and discussed legal action.

The suit claims Townsquare Media allowed Spadea to make the disparaging comments in order to boost the station's ratings.

"It appears that they knew that Bill Spadea was going to attack him after he provided the advice and they did nothing to stop it," said Matthew Priore, Tobias' attorney.

NJ 101.5 did not immediately respond to calls and emails for comment.