Sep. 11 2023, Published 11:15 a.m. ET
Wendy Williams’ ex-husband Kevin Hunter scored a small victory in his battle with the producers of The Wendy Williams Show — after a judge denied the defendant’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a New York federal judge ruled against Debmar-Mercury LCC and the production company’s heads, Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus.
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Wendy Williams has kept a low profile in the past couple of months.
As we first reported, last year, Kevin sued claiming he was wrongfully terminated from his role as an executive producer on The Wendy Williams Show after his wife filed for divorce and accused him of cheating in 2019.
“The termination of [Kevin] was based strictly upon [Kevin’s] marital status and his impending divorce to the Show’s host, ignoring all of the contributions that [Kevin] made to make the Show a success,” his lawsuit read.
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Kevin claims the producers took elements from Wendy’s show and used them on Sherri’s new show.
In his suit, Kevin claimed negotiations for Wendy’s show started in 2007. The talk show was given a six-week trial which exceeded all expectations.
Kevin said he represented Wendy in the talks with Debmar-Mercury, Ira and Mort.
“[Kevin] was used to being behind the scenes of Williams’ prior ventures and used his business knowledge and street smarts to negotiate a significant financial increase from the initial contract being offered to Williams,” the suit reads.
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Kevin has struggled to pay his bills in the last couple of months.
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Kevin believes his work played a part in the show’s success. He claimed to have come up with Wendy’s famous segments Hot Topics and Shoe Cam. He said he had the final say on guests, developed marketing plans to boost ratings, developed contacts in the media, helped bridge the gap between the show and the African-American community due to Debmar’s alleged lack of understanding of the show’s audience, and helped develop security procedures for his then-wife.
He served as EP from 2007 to 2019, when he was let go because of his alleged affair with a woman named Sharina Hudson. The two are currently together and have a child.
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To make matters worse, he said the producers were planning to use many of the elements from Wendy’s show on their new talk show with Sherri Shepherd. He argued the decision broke New York law.
The defendants denied they discriminated against Kevin or that he was wrongfully terminated.
Kevin is currently with Sharina Hudson.
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They argued the New York law cited by Kevin prohibited an employer from discriminating against a potential employee based on their marital status — whether they are married or unmarried.
However, they said “[Hunter’s] claim warrants dismissal because his marriage to Williams, in particular, is not a protected characteristic” by the law.
Now, the judge has denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss. He found that Kevin properly argued his case and that “Given Hunter’s allegations that he was terminated because of his impending divorce from Wendy Williams — i.e. terminated because he would no longer be married to Williams” the law requires this “Court to find that he has stated a claim for marital status discrimination” under New York law.
As a result, the case will move forward and a hearing was set for later this month. The Sun was the first to report the news.
As RadarOnline.com first reported, the good news in court comes as Kevin faces struggles to pay his bills after his alimony payments have been held up in Wendy’s fight with Wells Fargo.