Miami Anchor Charles Perez Claims Demotion Was Discrimination Based On His Sexual Orientation

WPLG-ABC  anchor Charles Perez was recently demoted to weekend anchor in a move he believes is the product of his bosses’ discomfort over his  sexual orientation. Perez is taking on the station’s management by filing a formal complaint with Miami-Dade’s Equal Opportunity Board that describes Perez’s treatment at the station over the course of the last few months.

In early March, News Director Bill Pohovey told Perez that his news delivery was “too anchor-like and too ‘Brian Williams.’” Meaning… he delivers the news in a way that makes people find him hot and likable? (He is one of the Hottest Latino Journalists in all the land, after all.) How can an anchor be too anchor-like? 

Later than same month, a private email Perez had written to his therapist was somehow forwarded to everyone on his contact list. In the email, Perez confided to his doctor that he needed to address his “gender identity issues.” Three days after the leak, Bill Pohovey, in direct contrast to his previous notes, criticized Perez for not sounding “main anchor-like.” He added that Perez came across as too soft, and that his on-air banter with co-anchor Laurie Jennings was like that of “two girlfriends.”

In April, Perez sought a restraining order against his former partner Dennis Ricardo Peña, whom he suspected of having leaked the email. 

Bill Pohovey, by the way, is also gay. He maintains that the station does not discriminate against the gay community and that Perez’s allegations are untrue and “offensive.”

Perez’s homosexuality was featured on the very first season of MTV’s The Real World, where he was shown as the boyfriend of housemate Norman Korpi. Perez later denied the two were dating and blamed editing post-production on making it seem otherwise.

It’ll be interesting to see how this case works out but, as someone who watched Charles Perez for many years, we can say that his delivery always seemed more professional and, yes, “anchor-like,” than his those of his peers. There’s something about local Miami news anchors that’s always seemed more casual than reporters we’ve seen in other cities. 

Besides. He’s got it going on:

TV anchor Charles Perez: Too gay for WPLG? [Miami Herald]