Thursday, September 12, 2019 – Seth Dunlap, host of WWL Radio’s “The Last Lap” announced that he is taking an immediate leave of absence from his shows at the station.
“I will be taking a leave of absence from my shows at WWL effective immediately,” Dunlap posted on Twitter. “I informed the station of my decision this afternoon.” He continued by saying that the decision was a deeply personal one before thanking those who have supported him throughout the past several days.
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1172243122962817024
“Thanks to the many people inside and outside the organization who have shown their support over the past couple of days. There are many people working at WWL and Entercom who are wonderful people, and have been unfairly swept up in this.”
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1172243124703432704
The announcement comes just two days after Dunlap was the target of a homophobic tweet sent out by someone using the station’s official Twitter account. Although the tweet was deleted almost immediately, several people had already taken screenshots of the tweet and were pressuring WWL Radio management to both explain and apologize.
https://twitter.com/nick_underhill/status/1171535213668626432
Although the station has not publicly apologized, they did issue a statement saying that they were aware of the tweet, calling the language “categorically offensive and abhorrent to the station.” An internal memo sent yesterday to station employees echoed those sentiments, with Entercom Senior Vice President Kevin Cassidy stating he was “personally disgusted” by the content of the tweet, and that the “individual’s statement does not reflect WWL or the company’s values of standards of decency.”
Although there has been much speculation on social media regarding who sent the tweet, WWL Radio maintains that their investigation into the author’s identity is ongoing.
Dunlap also had a message for the LGBTQ+ people who have been following him: “your voices are being heard.”
“I tried hard not to make this about me because, truthfully, it’s not. It’s about a culture of hate and bigotry that has proliferated recently in our society.”
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1172243125894635520
In a final note to his fans, Dunlap assures them that he is not “going away,” simply taking time to decide what is best for his career as well as his “life away [from] the microphone.”
https://twitter.com/sethdunlap/status/1172243127605825542
Jenn Bentley is a freelance journalist and editor currently serving as Editor-in-Chief of Big Easy Magazine. Her work has also been featured in publications such as Wander N.O. More, The High Tech Society, FansShare, Yahoo News, Examiner.com, and others. Follow her on Twitter: @JennBentley_
