Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean has taken issue with a statement made by 77 WABC owner John Catsimatidis and says she will never appear on the New York station again.
77 WABC host Rita Cosby will host a “no-holds-barred” interview with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Tuesday. Dean has been an outspoken critic of the way Cuomo handled the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the death of both of her in-laws in New York nursing homes.
At the conclusion of Cats & Cosby Monday, Catsimatidis said “Don’t listen to the weather girl” while Cosby promoted the interview.
Dean took to Twitter to share her displeasure with the situation.
“I love my buddy Sid Rosenberg but the guy that owns the station is a sick, mean man that continues to prop up a leader who helped kill thousands of seniors while laughing at our grief,” Dean wrote. “Cuomo, (Melissa) DeRosa, and John Catsimatidis deserve each other.”
In response, Catsimatidis told Dean that he “is not silencing people” and that she is “always welcome to come on 77 WABC”.
Dean posted a video to Twitter Tuesday morning to discuss the matter further, claiming that Cosby had privately shared her displeasure that Dean would discuss the situation publicly.
“Rita Cosby, who’s been a really good friend of mine for the last 20 years, is having Andrew Cuomo on her program tonight on WABC here in New York for the full hour,” Dean said. “I was upset because this station has been platforming Andrew Cuomo and has given his right-hand woman, Melissa DeRosa, a job.
“So I was upset, and I went on Twitter. I said ‘Hey, listen. Can you please have on some grieving families either before or after Andrew Cuomo gaslights New York again about his leadership and how he really failed New Yorkers?’ I got pushback. Rita contacted me and said she was upset with me and asked if I would talk to her. I was going to talk to her on the phone yesterday and tell her about some of the grieving families that are upset with her about her interview tonight with Andrew Cuomo.
“Then I heard that John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of WABC Radio — who claims that he wants to give a voice for all, despite never inviting grieving families — he called me ‘the weather girl’ and to not listen to me…So, WABC is trying to silence myself and all of the grieving families that want justice and accountability when it comes to our loved ones. Calling me ‘the weather girl’ only emboldens me more, and I’m going to speak louder than ever. Buckle up, WABC, Rita Cosby, and John Catsimatidis. I used to go on the program with Sid Rosenberg, my buddy from the (Don) Imus days, a lot. I will never go on WABC again of my own choice.”
