'Radio host Karen' fired after racist tirade against workers for speaking in Spanish, says she 'won't back down'
After conservative radio host Dianna Ploss went on a racist tirade against landscapers who were speaking Spanish outside her studio, she was fired from her radio station. "Dianna Ploss is no longer associated or affiliated in any way with WSMN or Bartis-Russell Broadcasting, LLC," WSMN 1590 said in a statement. "We at WSMN value freedom of speech, freedom of expression and assembly. We will not tolerate discrimination, racism or hatred. We continue to present and offer on-air opportunities for discussion, education and the exchange of opinions and ideas."
Ploss, who hosted the Dianna Ploss Show on WSMN 1590, was seen in a video live-streamed by her on Facebook harassing a bunch of landscape workers who were doing their job on the pavement of a street. She repeatedly yelled, "It's America. You should be speaking English" and accused of them of taking over her country by cordoning off a portion of the sidewalk. After not receiving any response from any of the workers, she continued to shout at them, saying, "Is anybody here illegal? Are these guys illegal?" She only stopped her rant after an African-American man walked up to her and questioned why she was "harassing" the workers.
She responded by asking him why he was wearing a mask. The passerby politely replied that he was wearing a mask because there was a global pandemic. When Ploss no longer had a comeback to his statement, she switched her camera to selfie mode and continued giving her opinion. “He’s a Black man and he’s going to protect the brown man from this White woman whose practicing White privilege because she happened to walk by and heard this guy talking to all of these guys doing this work in Spanish," she was heard saying at the end of the video as she entered the studio.
After Ploss's video went viral, a petition was filed on Change.org to have her fired from her job. "It was soon revealed that this woman has a radio show/platform on WSMN Nashua. She in no way represents this city, which needs MORE diversity, inclusion, and appreciation for cultural history and differences — not less. We are asking WSMN Radio to do the right thing, suspend her radio program, and stop giving her a platform to spread hate, ignorance and racist rhetoric. Hate has no place here," the petition said. Although the petition is yet to hit its target signatures of 15,000, it has already achieved its goal.
Tom Morin, the owner of Morin's Landscaping, Inc., which hires the workers who were harassed by Ploss also released a statement, thanking their team and the "concerned citizen who handled this challenging situation with the utmost of class and professionalism." “I want to express my sincere appreciation for the overwhelming and most meaningful support that you have provided our company regarding the unfortunate incident that took place in our great city last week,” the statement said. “The numerous phone calls, social posts, emails, voice messages and overall kind words are extremely encouraging and heartfelt. I believe that we can all take immense pride in how quickly the community rallied to demonstrate that this type of behavior is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Even after being fired, Ploss took to her Facebook page on Monday evening to declare that she is not going to “back down,” “give in” or “give up." “You have not silenced Dianna Ploss, I am not going away,” she said, standing in front of a cutout of President Donald Trump and a poster that read “MA 4 TRUMP 2020.” She added that she “had to hire security” because people across the nation had threatened her via text, voicemail and email. Ploss called her critics “cowards,” “fake Republicans” and “leftists.”