Colin
Jivani sued Bell for wrongful dismissal after he was fired from its iHeartRadio network in January, claiming he was hired as a token visible minority but fired when he didn’t match liberal views white executives expected from a Black man.
Bell Media denies Jivani was wrongfully dismissed or suffered damages.
Jivani, 34, of Oshawa, Ont., is a regular contributing columnist for Postmedia, including National Post.
“Prior to his termination, Bell Media had numerous concerns regarding the Plaintiff’s on-air performance and his resistant and combative attitude toward his managers and workplace policies,”the company says in its statement of defence.
He “invited guests onto his show who expressed extreme, false views on the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and failed to challenge their viewpoints or offer a balancing counterpoint,” the company claims.
As an example, Bell said Jivani didn’t challenge a caller who said Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, was a “tyrant dictator” and a “globalist puppet.” Nor did he challenge a caller saying alternative therapeutics such as hydroxychloroquine could treat COVID.
