Ojinika Obiekwe Sues WPIX For Gender And Racial Discrimination

Ojinika Obiekwe speaks onstage during the GC4W Entrepreneurship Ball at The Harvard Club on March 1, 2019 in New York City. Source: Cindy Ord / Getty

A Black TV anchor is suing her network, claiming that she was being overworked and treated like a slave on a “plantation” and that she was reprimanded by her boss for complaining about it in language that made her coworkers “uncomfortable.”

Ojinika Obiekwe, an on-air news personality at New York-based network PIX11, claimed in a lawsuit filed last month that she suffered racist and sexist discrimination at work. The Nigerian-born journalist alleged in her suit that, despite her rank as a journalist who had been with the network for 22 years, she was “forced to do the work of two or three employees, taking up roles as a segment producer and copy editor,” the Daily Mail reported.

Obiekwe’s suit also claims she had become “acutely aware” that her white male counterparts, who worked the same position she did, were receiving more support and accommodations in the workplace than she did. In short, Obiekwe’s lawsuit describes much of what workplace DEI trainings are meant to correct.

(L-R) Scott Stanford, Ojinika Obiekwe, Sheila Lennon, Tamsen Fadal and Javier Gomez attend the 4th Annual Santa Project party and auction benefiting United Cerebral Palsy Of New York City on December 3, 2013 in New York City. Source: Rommel Demano / Getty

The lawsuit notes that Obiekwe’s complaints about her treatment at PIX11 began in 2020, when she made public remarks about it in the newsroom and on air. She reportedly said about her work environment, “This might as well be a plantation,” and, “Just call me Django,” referring to the film Django Unchained.

“My ancestors didn’t go through what they went through just for me to go through this. I thought slavery was abolished,” she said, reportedly. “All that’s left for me to do at this point is pick cotton.”

So, in 2022, PIX11 brought in News Director Nicole Tindiglia, who, according to the suit, promised Obiekwe her complaints would be investigated. Obiekwe alleges that Tindilgia fed her an “empty promise” but did no actual work to resolve the issue. In fact, Obiekwe claims she was called into a meeting in 2022, where Tindiglia “challenged her sincerity in comparing her situation to slavery,” said that when most people think about slavery, they’re thinking “whips and chains,” and told her that the nature of her complaints was “making people uncomfortable.”

Correspondent for PIX11 News Ojinika Obiekwe attends 2016 New York Moves Awards at India House Club on November 11, 2016 in New York City. Source: Desiree Navarro / Getty

Obiekwe claims in her suit that she stood her ground during that meeting, and, as a result, a “campaign of retaliation” was launched against her, which included false allegations by Tindiglia that she wasn’t doing her job.

Obiekwe was reportedly terminated by the network in January of 2023 after she called into a meeting set up by Tindiglia, who accused her of “failure to perform job duties” — the opposite of what the lawsuit describes — and “insubordination.” The suit claims PIX11 was unable to provide proof that Obiekwe was being insubordinate and not doing her job, and Tindiglia eventually recanted her claims.

“Ms. Obiekwe was terminated, and her contract was not renewed, because she spoke up about discrimination she was experiencing,” one of her attorneys, Eric Abrams, said in a statement. “Beyond being morally unjust, PIX11 and Nexstar must be held accountable for their violations of the law.”

Obiekwe’s suit seeks compensatory damages from PIX11 and its owner Nexstar Media Group for her wrongful termination.

Categories: News