Health & Fitness
KDKA-AM's Marty Griffin Apologies For Transgender Insult
The talk show host repeatedly referred to Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine as "sir" on Tuesday.
PITTSBURGH, PA - KDKA-AM talk show host Marty Griffin apologized after repeatedly calling Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine "sir" during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
Levine, who is transgender, at one point told Griffin, "Please don't misgender me...it's really insulting." Griffin apologized, and after the call said he was sorry via Twitter.
I apologize. I apologized twice. I truly did. It was not intentional. It was not. I was not focused. I was doing six things at once. https://t.co/cdBO9r1iF8
— Marty Griffin (@MartyGriffinKD) May 12, 2020
The incident apparently prompted Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to cancel a scheduled Wednesday interview with another KDKA talk show host. Shortly after the exchange between Griffin and Levine, Peduto tweeted that the interview was off.
Find out what's happening in Pittsburghfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Cancelled interview w/ Lynne Hayes-Freeland for tomorrow. Not upset w/her, she’s always been a fair, strong journalist. But will not support @KDKARadio behavior. Growing up, KDKA had good people who made us proud to be from Pittsburgh. Now, it shock-jocks, sensationalism & worse.
— bill peduto (@billpeduto) May 12, 2020
Last month, Griffin's former on-air co-host, Wendy Bell, came under fire - and received support - after suggesting on KDKA that the country might want to consider lifting the coronavirus shutdown even if it meant the loss of millions of lives.
Find out what's happening in Pittsburghfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
