Kevin Hunter sues TV company producing The Wendy Williams Show for alleged wrongful termination
- The civil lawsuit filed in a federal court in New York City claimed that Hunter, 49, was wrongly fired by Debmar-Mercury as an executive producer due to his marital status with the show’s host
- Wendy Williams, 57, filed for divorce from Hunter in April 2019 citing irreconcilable differences after his mistress Sharina Hudson gave birth to his child in March 2019
- The lawsuit listed Debmar-Mercury founders Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus as defendants and demanded a jury trial
- Hunter was seeking a monetary award of at least $7 million, as well as punitive damages, lost wages and legal fees, according to court documents
- Williams in 2021 took a leave of absence from her daytime talk show due to various medical issues
- Debmar-Mercury announced last month that frequent guest host Sherri Shepherd, 54, had been signed on to host a new talk show Sherri as a replacement for The Wendy Williams Show
Kevin Hunter filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the TV company producing The Wendy Williams Show for alleged wrongful termination.
The civil lawsuit filed in a federal court in New York City claimed that Hunter, 49, was wrongly fired by Debmar-Mercury as an executive producer due to his marital status with the show’s host.
Williams, 57, filed for divorce from Hunter in April 2019 citing irreconcilable differences after his mistress Sharina Hudson gave birth to his child in March 2019.
Civil lawsuit: Kevin Hunter filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the TV company producing The Wendy Williams Show for alleged wrongful termination
‘Hunter was one of the reasons behind the Wendy William Show’s tremendous success and everything seemed to go south after he left. Mr. Hunter was unlawfully terminated solely due to his marital status to Wendy, which is contrary to human rights laws in NYC,’ his attorney Abe George told DailyMail.com.
‘This lawsuit seeks to compensate Mr. Hunter for the sweat equity that he put into the show and that Debmar-Mercury will continue to profit on even in their new reincarnation of the Wendy Williams Show,’ he added.
The lawsuit listed Debmar-Mercury founders Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus as defendants and demanded a jury trial. Hunter was seeking a monetary award of at least $7 million, as well as punitive damages, lost wages and legal fees, according to court documents.
Hunter was an executive producer of The Wendy Williams Show since 2007 and the lawsuit stated that he was involved in the show’s branding and helped conceptualize ‘the wildly popular segments ”Hot Topics,” ”Shoe Came,” and “Hot Seat” segments of the show’.
Happier times: Wendy Williams and ex-husband Kevin are show in July 2018 in New York City
The lawsuit stated that Hunter was served with notice that Williams was filing for divorce on April 11, 2019, and a week later he received a written notice of his termination from Bernstein.
‘The termination of Plaintiff was based strictly upon Plaintiff’s marital status and his impending divorce to the Show’s host, ignoring all of the contributions that Plaintiff made to make the Show a success,’ the lawsuit stated.
Williams in 2021 took a leave of absence from her daytime talk show due to various medical issues.
Wrongful termination: The civil lawsuit filed in a federal court in New York City claimed that Hunter, shown with Wendy in August 2010 in New York City, was wrongly fired by Debmar-Mercury as an executive producer due to his marital status with the show’s host
Debmar-Mercury announced last month that frequent guest host Sherri Shepherd, 54, had been signed on to host a new talk show Sherri as a replacement for The Wendy Williams Show.
Williams and Hunter have 21-year-old son Kevin Samuel together.
The talk show host last September tested positive for a breakthrough infection of COVID-19.
Family picture: Kevin, Wendy and their son Kevin Hunter Jr are shown in July 2017 in New York City
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