Former BlazeTV personality and YouTuber Sydney Watson is suing the outlet for retaliation and wrongful termination, along with religious and sex discrimination, for alleged abuse by fellow former BlazeTV personality Elijah Schaffer.
Schaffer and Watson co-hosted You Are Here on BlazeTV between September 2021 and April 2022.
Lawyer and Rapper Jordan Dixon-Hamilton, who also goes by his stage name Patriot J, revealed Watson had had filed a four count lawsuit against the media outlet, alleging BlazeTV created and tolerated a “hostile work environment” allowing sexual harassment, retaliation, and further discriminated against her on the basis of her sex and religion. Author and lawyer Kurt Schlichter is representing Watson.
Dixon-Hamilton, who also reports for Breitbart News, noted he was previously a guest on two February episodes of the program and said, “I will not express my thoughts, I’m just here to report the facts of an interesting lawsuit.”
🧵 THREAD: 'Get Mr. Shaffer to Stop Talking About Dicks so Much'@SydneyLWatson is suing the Blaze @blazeTV @theblaze for retaliation, wrongful termination, and sex and religious discrimination based on alleged abuse perpetrated by @ElijahSchaffer, according to a copy of the… https://t.co/NUTxdy8Gpf
— Patriot J 🔥 (@sirhottest) February 10, 2023
Watson claims she signed with BlazeTV because the company reportedly represented itself as “an incubator of talent,” citing previous success with past personalities Dana Loesch and Tomi Lahren. The former personality also claimed the outlet’s “moral values” played a role in her decision to sign with BlazeTV.
Issues between the cohosts were reported to management beginning in December 2021, though the interactions allegedly became “weekly” occurrences around January the following year.
Watson claimed Schaffer engaged in misogyny and acted in a “grossly sexual nature,” and reportedly drank on set, though BlazeTV reportedly “[catered] to the demands, tantrums, and misbehavior” of Shaffer, according to the complaint citing Shaffer as the “star” and primary “asset” of the outlet.
Unfortunately, trouble in paradise began as early as December 2021, leading to multiple complaints made to management and "weekly interactions" with them since January 2022.
Watson complained to Blaze leadership of Shaffer's misogyny, drinking on set, and "grossly sexual… https://t.co/avuIXtGnUH
— Patriot J 🔥 (@sirhottest) February 10, 2023
“He appeared to enjoy the intimidation factor that his physical size gave him with respect to Ms. Watson,” reads Watson’s complaint. “The choice of guests compounded Ms. Watson’s growing discomfort with the anti-female tone of the show and the off-air interactions with her co-host.”
Watson cited a Dec. 3 appearance of controversial political commentator Nick Fuentes on the program, claiming he was “grossly misogynistic” and Shaffer appeared to “condone” the behavior.
“It was at about this time that the environment on the production began to become notably more hostile not merely to Ms. Watson but to many of the women at The Blaze,” the suit states.
Notably, Watson points to YAH's December 3 episode featuring "notorious bigot" Nick Fuentes as evidence of the increasingly hostile work environment.
"He was grossly misogynistic, and most troubling was how this appeared to be condoned by Mr. Schaffer," Watson says of Fuentes's… https://t.co/obagnxxPlQ
— Patriot J 🔥 (@sirhottest) February 10, 2023
Watson further cited a hostile interaction during a December 2021 episode in which guest Jack Murphy berated Watson regarding the content of a viewer’s super chat.
The former BlazeTV personality further accused her cohost of “unilaterally” booking guests with “particularly contemptible and sexist opinions towards women.”
Watson accused Shaffer of "unilaterally" booking several guests with "particularly contemptible and sexist opinions towards women," after the show returned from the holiday break in January 2022.
As a "serious journalist," Watson did not agree to assume the role of "the… https://t.co/bsD4C6NRYS
— Patriot J 🔥 (@sirhottest) February 10, 2023
The complaint also claimed audience members were “encouraged by Mr. Schaffer’s conduct and attacked Ms. Watson so often and so intensely that other guests noted it and were put off.” The suit cites super chats containing “grossly sexist” and “anti-Jewish” sentiment which Watson claimed was cultivated by Schaffer.
The former BlazeTV personality also claims she was discriminated for her atheistic viewpoint by Schaffer, who “consistently” commented on her views and “encouraged the audience to attack her.”
Schaffer was also accused of “endlessly [referencing] sex, … specifically gay sex … [discussing] penises … in front of the guests and Ms. Watson.”
Shaffer and the audience had a "running gag" for Watson to read fans' super chats that were allegedly "coded dog whistles that referenced grossly misogynistic and/or anti-Semitic comments," unbeknownst to Watson.
Shaffer "encouraged this humiliation," despite her complaints to… https://t.co/3xKfLHr9cT
— Patriot J 🔥 (@sirhottest) February 10, 2023
Watson told Schaffer “point blank” about how the alleged sexism made her want to quit, though her cohost reportedly had a “tantrum” and refused to meet with the show’s production “until his demands were met,” Dixon-Hamilton reported.
The former You Are Here cohost further cited Schaffer’s social media as a “component” of his harassment, referring to the following Apr. 7 tweet from Schaffer: “I hope she sees this and sleeps with you” in reference to Watson.
Watson reportedly left the show following her cohost’s tweet and subsequently confirmed her departure in a May 2022 tweet citing a “multitude of reasons,” claiming the “professional situation morphed into something untenable.”
Schaffer reportedly retaliated against Watson and claimed he needed to sue Watson to “keep her quiet,” citing her efforts to end his marriage, along with claiming Watson made sexual “passes” at him, according to the complaint.
BlazeTV “actively terminated” her employment in July 2022 in response to her complaints about Schaffer, according to Dixon.
Watson’s lawsuit is seeking damages for “mental anguish, pain and suffering, lost wages and benefits (both back pay and front pay),” along with punitive damages “in the highest amount under the law” and an award of attorney’s fees from the outlet.
In September 2022, BlazeTV announced Schaffer, who also hosted the solo podcast Slightly Offens*ve, had been dropped from the outlet’s roster, though did not reveal their reason for letting him go.
