“Apparently there is a second official HR complaint against me and this show,” Lewis said, adding that the first complaint had been received ten days ago. “Yesterday’s complaint was apparently a little more serious. It was a phone call, which is not good. I would prefer the email. When they call you, it’s more pressing.”
“They said ‘In the future, you are no longer allowed to call out SiriusXM employees individually on your radio show. You can call out the departments, but you can’t call out the individuals,'” he said.
He continued: “So this is our second HR complaint in ten days, which is not good.”
A representative for SiriusXM did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment regarding the alleged complaints.
After he claims he received the phone call, Lewis said he stayed up late trying to figure out “who could have potentially ratted us out.”
John Tsiavis/Bravo
“I’m not that stupid,” Lewis said. “I’m self-destructive, but I’m not stupid.”
Bravo
He spoke about fellow SiriusXM radio personality Rich Davis, who hosts the show “Covino & Rich” alongside Steve Covino. Lewis has publicly teased the pair on his radio show in the past.
He claimed he confronted Davis in the office that morning and asked him, “Did you turn me in to HR?” And said Davis responded, “I would never do that.”
“I know I’ve talked a lot of s—t about you,” Lewis recalled saying to Davis, to which he says Davis replied: “We wouldn’t. We’re not rats.”
Lewis went on to name the rest of the people who he believed could have made the complaint, and as he was doing so, he says, he received a text message from a SiriusXM executive who informed him of the HR filing.
“Oh God, is he texting me already?” Lewis asked. “Yup, he’s texting me. Oh s—t.”
He claimed the message read: “You’re literally saying every SiriusXM employee’s name.”
“I’m not. Am I?” Lewis asked in response. “I’m trying to figure out who did this.”
Cohost Doug Budin joked that Lewis would soon be out of a job: “I guess you are saying the names, so welcome to the Cheri and Doug show,” he said, referring to himself and their guest on the episode,SNLalum Cheri Oteri.
Lewis also claimed that the executive asked him to “not rhyme names that are similar to the names who you think turned you in on the radio.” Lewis then announced that he thought the people who turned him in were named “Starchy” and “Fargo,” presumably rhyming names of XM employees.
The host then announced that, “Moving forward we are not going to call out any individual names. We are only going to call out the departments.”
However, he complained that he didn’t know if it was a “fair” ask for his employer to make.
“If somebody, in my opinion, is not doing their job, I can’t talk about it?” he said. “I have to go to HR?”
Lewis then alleged that the HR staff likely felt “like this is job security.” To which Budin replied, “The only one that’s replaceable is you.”
He also announced thatJeff LewisLive!wouldn’t be airing over the July 4th holiday week, but insisted that it wasn’t because of disciplinary action.
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU/Getty
“So far, it’s not because we were suspended,” Lewis said. “We haven’t been suspended as of yet.”
This isn’t the first time Lewis has had trouble with the human resources department of one of his employers. He previously claimed that his formerFlipping Outco-star and friend of nearly 20 years Jenni Pulosfiled claims of wrongful termination, abuse and victimization against him. Pulos vehemently denied those claims to PEOPLE in November whenspeaking out about the fight for the first time. “Citing wrongful termination claim, wrong. Citing abuse claim, wrong. Citing victimization claim, wrong,” Pulos said. “[Our relationship] was very real. I was his employee and I worked for him. It was very authentic, and that’s important.”
Lewis has stated he believes those claims and his rift with Pulos caused the end ofFlipping Outafter 11 seasons.
Bravo had no comment on the matter at the time.
In his personal life, the professional house flipper is going through a tumultuous time after splitting from hispartner of ten years Gage Edwardfive months ago, and is currently in the middle of an“ugly” custody battleover their two-year-old daughter Monroe.
source: people.com
