Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg believe HOT 97’s problems run deeper than its morning show. On Monday’s Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show, the former HOT 97 hosts responded to recent comments from Mero and Kaz. In doing so, they blamed station leadership.
What We Know: The trio spent nearly 40 minutes on HOT 97 and its parent company, MediaCo. First, they played a clip of Kaz saying his show beat The Breakfast Club with far fewer resources. Then they turned to management. Rosenberg noted that HOT 97 never replaced its program director, who left for Los Angeles. Additionally, Ebro said the station no longer pays for music research. He also said he heard the company owes former imaging producer Dom Nero nearly a year of pay. Meanwhile, Rosenberg revealed that he and Ebro just finished arbitration over money they say the company owed them when they left. The trio were let go by the station in December 2025. Ebro also criticized working conditions at sister station WBLS.
What They Said: “The head coach left and they didn’t replace the head coach. They don’t know how to sell it or have the talent to sell it. They don’t have the people to sell it. The new ownership at HOT 97 doesn’t appreciate what radio is.” – Peter Rosenberg
“The problem here is the station’s owned by a venture capitalist. If people find out that you have Black heritage legacy individuals in this type of conditions, y’all gonna have some hell to pay, bro.” – Ebro
I saw so many people that were like, ‘I never got paid. I did work for them. Some people were actually giving out numbers. Some people were, like, months. That’s embarrassing. And these are young folks.” – Laura Stylez
What Remains Unclear: MediaCo hasn’t publicly responded to the hosts’ claims. Moreover, no one has confirmed the reports of unpaid contributors, including Nero. It’s also unclear whether HOT 97 plans to hire a new program director or make changes to its morning show following Mero and Kaz’s remarks.
What It Means: For MediaCo, the negative attention continues to put a black cloud over an iconic brand. When current and former employees say HOT 97 hasn’t paid them and talk of ongoing layoffs, it paints a picture of an unstable work environment. In turn, that makes it harder to sell advertising and recruit great talent. As Ebro and Rosenberg argued, a strong brand won’t fix a thin operation. HOT 97’s immediate focus must be on quieting the noise and reminding people why it is one of the crown jewels of New York radio.
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