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Rudy Giuliani’s “alleged girlfriend” says she was subjected to ongoing “ridicule” and “humiliation” throughout her tenure because the co-host of the disgraced former New York Metropolis mayor’s radio present on 77 WABC, accusing billionaire station proprietor and deep-pocketed Trump backer John Catsimatides of implementing a craven marketing campaign to “undermine” her place earlier than unceremoniously firing her — by way of textual content message — for complaining.
In an eye-popping lawsuit obtained by The Unbiased, board-certified nurse practitioner and former hospital government Maria Ryan claims grocery store magnate “Johnny Cats” marginalized, and finally fired, her as a result of she is a girl, questioning her bona fides, ignoring her ideas, and refusing to compensate her for her appearances on the radio present.
When Catsimatidis lastly agreed to start out paying Ryan, he grudgingly supplied her $200 per episode, “an amount significantly lower than her male counterparts and industry standards,” in line with the lawsuit, which was filed by Ryan Saturday in New York state court docket.
Ryan’s swimsuit claims she introduced her complaints in regards to the “discrimination and hostile work environment” at WABC to station President Chad Lopez, who allegedly instructed her “John makes all the decisions and John is a Greek man and you are a woman.”
“[T]herefore, there was no point in standing up to him,” the lawsuit states.
The married Ryan, who performed a central function in Giuliani’s push to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election, has beforehand denied being romantically concerned with Giuliani. The previous mayor was beforehand caught on tape speaking at size to former worker Noelle Dunphy, who’s suing Giuliani over alleged widespread misconduct together with sexual assault, about what he described as a two-year affair that ended solely as a result of Ryan wouldn’t go away her husband.
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Maria Ryan (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) claims she was handled like a second-class citizen as a result of she’s a girl (Getty Photographs)
In an e-mail on Saturday to The Unbiased, Giuliani’s safety chief, Michael Ragusa, who stated he had been approved to touch upon the previous mayor’s behalf, stated, “As I have stated to numerous outlets, Mayor Giuliani and Dr. Maria are strictly business partners,. Dr. Maria’s involvement with the mayor is purely professional, and with her extensive and impressive medical background, she also oversees his healthcare. As for Noelle Dunphy’s so-called ‘tape,’ it is merely another one of her scams and extortion tactics, similar to what she has attempted with other men rather than pursuing legitimate professional endeavors.”
Ryan’s legal professional, Matthew Blit, stated his consumer “emphatically denies any affair, sexual or otherwise. There is no tape, audio, visual or otherwise that refers to her.”
“Facing Discrimination is extremely challenging, especially for a person in a powerful position,” Blit instructed The Unbiased. “It makes the person question themselves and their accomplishments and it dissuades many people from going public and standing up for their rights. Dr. Maria is bravely taking on a very powerful person and entity. Mayor Guiliani has also retained our firm and is also considering a lawsuit to remedy the discriminatory actions which he believes were taken against him.”
Attorneys for Catsimatidis didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Saturday, and a messages to Lopez went unanswered.
Within the spring of 2021, Ryan, a board-certified nurse practitioner and former group hospital exec, started showing as a visitor on WABC’s “The Rudy Giuliani Show,” in line with her lawsuit.
“Dr. Maria’s contributions focused on significant healthcare topics and discussions on the pandemic,” the swimsuit states.
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Grocery store magnate and 77 WABC proprietor John Catsimatidis (proper) with spouse Margo on the 2018 Nationwide Consuming Problems Affiliation Annual Gala (Getty Photographs for Nationwide Consuming)
It claims listeners appreciated the “effective dynamic” between Giuliani and Ryan, who railed in opposition to the Covid vaccine and as a substitute touted hydroxychloroquine, a livestock dewormer, as a remedy. This prompted Catsimatidis and Lopez to supply her a co-hosting slot on Giuliani’s new present, “Uncovering the Truth.”
As a result of Ryan was initially billed as a visitor and never a co-host, she obtained no cash for her appearances, in line with the lawsuit. Ultimately, Giuliani had his agent attempt to negotiate a compensation bundle for Ryan, however the swimsuit says Catsimatidis rejected these overtures, “showing no interest in paying Dr. Maria or providing her a contract.”
After Ryan protested to Lopez, she claims Catsimatidis agreed to pay her far lower than what males obtained.
Ryan’s swimsuit claims she was persistently “treated as a lesser contributor compared to her male counterparts, with her suggestions often ignored in team meetings and discussions,” and that she “faced disparaging remarks about her qualifications, with Lopez questioning the legitimacy of her academic degrees.” It alleges she “was compelled to provide all four of her degrees to Lopez to validate her credentials as a ‘real’ medical provider, an experience that was both humiliating and demoralizing.”
“Despite her established professional expertise, [Ryan] faced unwarranted scrutiny… while her male colleagues were not similarly questioned,” the lawsuit claims.
In accordance with her official bio, “Dr. Maria Ryan is an intelligent person with a brilliant perspective to solving today’s issues.”
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Maria Ryan (left) claims Rudy Giuliani argued with WABC on her behalf, and bought fired due to it (@RudyGiuliani / X)
She earned her nursing degree at NH Technical Institute in 1989, a bachelor’s degree from the College of New Hampshire in 1994, a grasp’s degree from Rivier School in 1997, and a doctorate in healthcare administration from Warren Nationwide College, a so-called diploma mill that went beneath, in 2009.
The swimsuit additionally alleges she “faced false accusations of policy violations, such as playing unauthorized music on air” – claims she alleges have been “unsubstantiated” and “a pretext to undermine her role.”
In a single occasion, Ryan says Lopez angrily texted her throughout a present to admonish her for discussing Newsmax on the air.
“During a phone call to resolve the issue, Lopez became increasingly aggressive, accusing [Ryan] of being present at a dinner where the policy was allegedly discussed,” the lawsuit continues. “[Ryan] clarified that she had not attended such a dinner. Lopez, initially insistent that she was present, eventually admitted the error.”
Nonetheless, Ryan claims her talking out solely served to show her into much more of an outcast amongst WABC brass.
“For example, promotional materials for ‘Uncovering the Truth’ prominently featured Giuliani’s head while reducing [Ryan’s] head to the size of a postage stamp, a representation that became a source of ridicule within the station,” the lawsuit states.
Ryan says WABC’s on-air promotions gave her related brief shrift.
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Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hit together with his personal allegations of making a hostile work setting (Copyright 2021 The Related Press. All rights reserved.)
“Despite being responsible for the first two segments and Giuliani for the last two, the promotions consistently introduced the show with ‘Here’s Rudy Giuliani’ for all segments,” the swimsuit alleges. “[Ryan’s] requests to start the first two segments with ‘Now, here’s Dr. Maria’ were ignored.”
Giuliani, who has confronted his personal hostile office allegations, went to bat for Ryan with Catsimatidis and Lopez “on several occasions,” in line with the lawsuit. However, it claims, the 2 rejected the previous mayor’s “legitimate complaints about the discriminatory treatment of his co-host,” and as a substitute “retaliated against him by suspending and ultimately terminating his employment.”
The swimsuit notes that Catsimatidis claimed later that he fired Giuliani for repeating identified lies about Dominion and Smartmatic voting machines, saying he didn’t need the station to be sued. Ryan claims this was a made-up story meant to “provide cover for their unlawful retaliation” in opposition to him.
As for Ryan, she was “informed by Catsimatidis via text message that her employment was conditional, a term that had not been previously communicated, and that she was no longer allowed to appear on Giuliani’s weekday show, ‘The Rudy Giuliani Show,” the lawsuit states. “Shortly thereafter, [Ryan] was given 30-day notice of termination and informed she was off the air immediately.”
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Maria Ryan was a vocal backer of Rudy Giuliani’s effort to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election. Giuliani is seen giving his now-infamous Whole Landscaping press convention (Getty Photographs)
Within the aftermath of their firings, Giuliani described Catsimatidis and Lopez to right-wing operative and Trump insider Steve Bannon as “dishonorable people” and “a bunch of weasels.”
Ryan’s swimsuit alleges Catsimatidis and Lopez dedicated three separate violations of the New York Metropolis Human Rights Regulation: discrimination primarily based upon {sex}, hostile work setting primarily based upon {sex}, and retaliation.
She is demanding compensatory damages, punitive damages, again pay, entrance pay, attorneys’ charges, and a court docket order prohibiting Catsimatidis and Lopez from “engaging in the conduct alleged herein,” together with an award of damages “to compensate [Ryan] for emotional distress and mental anguish suffered as a result of Defendants’ unlawful conduct, in an amount to be determined at trial.”
Catsamatidis, Lopez, and WABC haven’t but filed a proper response to Ryan’s allegations.
