Following allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse toward his female staff, Eric Ferguson, longtime morning host of The Mix on 101.9-FM, says he’s leaving the show for good.
“I feel that returning to the air at this time, in this environment, will be an unfair distraction to my colleagues, and the rest of the morning show members who work so hard,” Ferguson said in a statement published by Robert Feder of the Daily Herald.
Ferguson had been off the air throughout October after management suspended him following lawsuits from female colleagues who claimed he created an “unbearable” work environment.
“As a result, and after discussions with Hubbard leadership, we’ve decided it is best that I step away from the show. I’m energized to move forward and defend myself against claims made against me and the station, and look forward to seeing them through to their conclusion. I am confident that at the end of the day the courts will rule and the right outcome will prevail,” the statement said.
Terms of his departure were not disclosed. Sources said he had three years left on his contract with Hubbard Radio, Feder reported.
In court filings, four women alleged misconduct by Ferguson and claimed the company ignored complaints.
Cynthia DeNicolo, a former assistant producer, accused Ferguson of coercing her to perform oral sex on him about twice a month between January and August of 2004, according to the suit, which was filed in Cook County in May.
In a statement included in DeNicolo’s suit, Kristin Mori, a former sales employee, said the radio personality groped her at a Christmas party in 2003.
Weeks later, a former co-host, Melissa McGurren, quit her job in 2020 after two decades due to Ferguson’s constant harassment, according to a lawsuit. McGurren’s suit includes a statement from a third former co-host, Jennifer Ashrafi, who says she warned a Hubbard executive before she left the station in January 2020 of the toxic and hostile work environment toward women that existed on The Mix’s morning shows.
Carmen Caruso, McGurren’s attorney, had no immediate comment on Ferguson’s departure.
Ferguson was host of the morning show on WTMX for 25 years.
