The heated battle between conservative talk radio hosts Jack Riggins and Dan Parsons continued in court yesterday. The controversy started when Parsons replaced Riggins on KLIN in 2023. Parsons then made several defamatory statements about Riggins on X, which led to Riggins filing a lawsuit against Parsons.
Riggins’ 16-page complaint accuses Parsons of attacking his personal and professional character through a series of tweets on X. Parsons hosted “The Dan Parsons Show,” which promoted “truth over tribalism” in contrast to Riggins’ hyper-conservative program, for 10 months until his abrupt termination in March.
In response to his firing, Parsons took to social media to detail the end of his contract. He mentioned that he replaced Riggins, who was allegedly fired after an anonymous woman accused a state lawmaker of sexual assault while live on air. However, Riggins denies these claims. He insists that he fulfilled his contractual obligation with the station before leaving.
Riggins’ lawsuit addressed three other posts by Parsons claiming that Riggins was fired from KLIN. An opportunity to say goodbye to listeners before leaving the station was one of the issues in question. He claims Parsons defamed him over it and placed him in a false light.
Broadcast House GM Ami Graham, said neither Riggins nor Parsons were radio station employees. They were contracted hosts to KLIN, and have since completed their agreements with the station.
Parsons responded to the lawsuit by stating that he is seeking legal counsel and will address it soon. Meanwhile, KLIN has replaced Parsons’ show with “Drive Time Nebraska” hosted by Doug Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald previously worked as a fill-in host at the station.
The legal battle between public figures may prove difficult for Riggins to win. He must prove that Parsons acted with “actual malice” in making defamatory statements. This means he will have to show that Parsons knew the information was false when he made it public.
