TBR- Source: Front Page Detective
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| Former NYC TV anchor Ojinika “Oji” Obiekwe |
A federal jury has awarded former New York City TV anchor Ojinika “Oji” Obiekwe $2.4 million after finding that WPIX-TV and Nexstar Media Group retaliated against her for raising complaints about race discrimination. The eight-member jury reached its verdict on July 21 after a week-long trial in federal court in New York City. It concluded that Obiekwe would not have been fired if she had not complained about race discrimination.
Obiekwe is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who worked at PIX11 for 22 years. She joined the station in 2001 as an intern when she was 22 years old. She later worked as a producer before becoming an on-camera entertainment reporter and anchor in 2017.
Anchor Was Overworked and Underpaid
Obiekwe, who is Black and Nigerian, said she was treated differently from her white male colleagues. She claimed she had less staff support and more work and was paid less despite her years at the station. According to Atlanta Black Star, she began facing trouble in 2020. In early 2021, she formally complained to Nexstar’s human resources department, but the company did not investigate her concerns.
Her lawsuit said she compared the workplace to a plantation while speaking about the treatment she faced. She said, “PIX 11 might as well be a plantation. Just call me Django — but even Django was unchained.” On another occasion, she said, “All that’s left for me to do at this point is pick cotton.”
According to court documents, management called her remarks “inflammatory” and said they made workers uncomfortable.
In 2022, Obiekwe again compared her treatment to slavery. She said her Nigerian ancestors would be “disappointed in me for agreeing to go through what I’m going through now.”
Her lawsuit states that the station later began raising complaints about her job performance. However, she denied those claims and said they were part of a conspiracy against her.
Fired After More Than Two Decades
Reportedly, Obiekwe was called into a meeting on Jan. 31, 2023, where she was given a termination letter that cited an alleged “failure to perform job duties” and “insubordination.” In response, Obiekwe said, “A Black woman speaks up, and she’s insubordinate. Got it.” But when her union sought evidence of poor performance, the station said it had decided not to renew her contract.
WPIX and Nexstar denied the claims in the lawsuit. They said her lawsuit was “baseless” and argued that she was fired for poor performance, not race complaints. They also called her discrimination claims “wholly contrived.”
After the verdict, Obiekwe said she had faced a choice between her job and speaking out. She said, “No one should have to choose between their livelihood and speaking up about what they believe is wrong. I did.”
Her lawyers, Erica Abrams and Andrew G. Celli, called the verdict a victory for Obiekwe. Her award includes $1.137 million in damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress, with the jury also ordering $1.28 million in punitive damages.
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