Jamie Shupak: CNN host Brian Stelter's wife acts like a 'high school bully', say NY1 staffers
Jamie Shupak, the wife of CNN host Brian Stelter, has been accused of acting like a bully and a diva at cable news station NY1, where she works as an anchor.
New York magazine published a thoroughly detailed report on the accusations against Shupak, the co-anchor of NY1’s 'Morning on 1.' The report labeled NY1's work culture "a den of vipers" as it talked about a lawsuit filed by five longtime female anchors against NY1’s parent Charter Communications for alleged age and gender discrimination. One legal complaint was settled out of court and required the plaintiff to leave the station, while two others are still pending from other staffers who have accused of pregnancy discrimination.
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Who is Jamie Shupak?
Jamie Shupak Stelter is the co-anchor of NY1’s 'Morning on 1,' alongside real-life friends Pat Kiernan and Annika Pergament. In fact, Kiernan was the one who played a matchmaker for Jamie and Brian. The couple married in a Jewish ceremony, and plan to raise their children in Shupak's Jewish faith. On May 21, 2017, their daughter was born and they have a son who was born in August 2019. They live in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Why is Jamie being accused of bullying?
It is alleged that as Shupak rose in the ranks to become a recognizable media personality, and gained fame through interviews about her personal life, she became more diva-like. Colleagues said that after the New York Times ran a profile of her titled, 'Stuck in Traffic? A Star Is Born' in 2011, Shupak and Pergament began to behave like “high-school bullies." They reportedly openly gossiping about co-workers, at times even with their microphones still on.
“It could be the way someone did their hair, what they’re wearing, their reporting,” said a former colleague. “A lot of people don’t like working with Jamie,” one more said. “People would avoid her,” remarked a third.
Apparently, Shupak did not like someone else getting the limelight and outshining her. There was a time when Alyse Zwick, a former Miss New York and Jets dancer, went viral on Twitter and people started talking about her being one of NY1’s top performers on social media. This led Shupak to allegedly make “snide comments.” Shortly after, Zwick was told not to post pictures from her NFL or pageant days, an ex-staffer said.
The report also alleged that Shupak and her two co-hosts ostracized Stacy Ann Gooden, a former Black weather anchor. Shupak and Pergament would apparently talk disparagingly about her on set and she was often excluded from meetings, insiders say. "It got to the point where Stacy-Ann couldn’t take it anymore because they were just outwardly rude,” a former colleague said. Gooden reportedly took matters to HR and quit when nothing changed. “She wouldn’t even let them counteroffer,” a crew member said.