Former Q107 host tells tribunal he looked at pictures of women in ‘very little clothing’ while at work
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Former Q107 co-host John Derringer admitted to a human rights tribunal Thursday that he looked at pictures of skimpily dressed women while at work.
“I’m not going to say they weren’t wearing any clothing, but there were definitely women in very little clothing,” Derringer told complainant counsel, Lisa Stam, during cross-examination.
Stam’s client Jennifer Valentyne filed a complaint to the tribunal alleging verbal abuse and gender-based discrimination while she was employed on Corus Entertainment’s Derringer in the Morning from 2017 to 2019.
The hearing at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal comes after the popular radio show was put on hiatus in May 2022. At the time, Corus Entertainment said it was pulling the show off the air amid an external ethics and conduct review.
On-air comments on breast reduction surgery
Maureen Holloway, a former co-host in the show from 2010 to 2015, said in 2022 that she was a target of verbal attacks from Derringer.
During Thursday’s cross-examination, Stam asked specifically about a comment Derringer made when Holloway was still on the show.
“You commented that the cruelest surgery a woman could do is a breast reduction because of what it denies a man, correct?” she asked.
“We told that joke on air, yeah,” he said.
At the time Holloway had had a mastectomy due to breast cancer, which Derringer said he was aware of.
Poster for Corus Entertainment’s Derringer in the Morning, with John Derringer seen in the middle. The show went on hiatus in 2022. (Q107/Corus Entertainment)
“Maureen was anything but a prude,” Derringer said, adding the show was based around making “a ton of stupid comments on the air.”
“That’s what we did for a living,” he said. “Nobody was hired or nobody participated thinking this was a religious retreat, it was a male-dominated radio show in a very competitive market.”
Stam also asked Derringer if he had looked at Playboy when at work, and he said “we might have,” and “that does sound familiar … I think it’s possible.”
Allegations of verbal attacks toward women at work
During her cross-examination, Stam painted a picture of complaints dating back to 2001. Those included several instances of co-workers over the years reportedly crying at work during interactions with Derringer. In response, Derringer alleged various instances of late arrivals or poor job performance.
Derringer said Valentyne cried for the first time during an interaction with him at work three months into the job.
“Jennifer thought that she was entitled to be a part of conversations that she was simply not prepared to be involved in,” he said. Stam asked if he recalled shouting at Valentyne.
Derringer said he was unhappy and his tone may have been raised, “But I was not screaming at the top of my lungs.”
Stam asked about an incident with Holloway in 2015, where she alleged Derringer threw his headset and had flecks of spit spewing as he shouted at her.
“I don’t recall exactly what my reaction was, but I was definitely very unhappy when Maureen came in,” he said, alleging she was over 35 minutes late.
Following the event, Derringer said that he agreed with management to speak with a workplace conflict specialist for “maybe a couple of months” but said he was not forced to do so.
He said it’s the only time he’s been disciplined and that management had never raised concerns specifically about his interactions with women in the studio.
Corus Entertainment declined to comment on the proceedings.
