Radio Station Says Homophobic Tweet Came from Gay Employee’s Phone

The case of a homophobic tweet sent by a Louisiana radio station's account is getting even uglier, and more complex by the day.

On September 10, the official account of WWL Radio posted a tweet targeting host Seth Dunlap with a homophobic slur. It was quickly deleted, but not before it was screen-captured and widely shared online. In response, the station said it would launch an investigation with its parent company, Entercom. Dunlap took a leave of absence from the station during that time.

Now, a police report indicates the investigation revealed that the tweet came from an IP address associated with Dunlap's phone. Surveillance footage shows that Dunlap went into his office and closed the door just before the tweet was sent, then emerged with his phone in his hand a few minutes later, police say.

According to the report, in the wake of the initial event, Dunlap asked the company for $1.85 million in compensation for being targeted -- but they say he was facing personal financial issues. The host said he would go "scorched earth" over the tweet, according to the report.

The investigation was conducted by Montgomery County Detective Sergeant John Conroy, who has been a forensic investigator since 2005.

Though police are still investigating the claims, they're now treating the case as possible extortion, which is punishable with up to 15 years in prison. But according to Dunlap, this is all a lie.

In his defense, Dunlap says he's passed a lie-detector test, indicating that he did not send the tweet or work with one else he did. His attorney, Megan Kiefer, said the allegations are "littered with falsehoods," and that Dunlap did not have access to the WWL Twitter account.

In a statement, Kiefer and Dunlap wrote, "incredibly, the last sentence of the police report states that [the station] have even refused to produce documentation to the NOPD. It is truly reprehensible that they would be attempting to blame the victim of its own anti-LGBT culture, and they are only compounding the severe damage that Mr. Dunlap has experienced at the hands of Entercom."

The report indicates that as of Monday evening, when it was filed, the station had not sent any documents to the police to corroborate its claims.

Kiefer added, "we will reveal the appalling history of discrimination Seth has experienced during his eight years at Entercom as an openly gay man. ... Entercom as well as its corporate lawyers were aware of instances of homophobia and discrimination and did nothing to protect Seth or its LGBTQ+ employees."

Kiefer says that it was the station that approached Dunlap to discuss a settlement, and that they initially told Dunlap they'd cleared him of responsibility.

Dunlap said Wednesday he planned to sue the station.

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