WFAN sports radio host Joe Benigno is taking a leave of absence from the station, two days after he was named in a salacious sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee, multiple sources familiar with Benigno’s employment confirmed to The Post.
Benigno had conversations with close associates about not returning immediately to WFAN to avoid having the conversation on talk radio become about him, rather than about baseball and the station’s Subway Series coverage, a source told The Post.
WFAN has launched an internal investigation into the sexual harassment claims against Benigno laid out in the lawsuit, according to a source. There is no set date for when the radio host will return to the air, a source said.
Esther Mireya Tejeda, a spokeswoman for Entercom, which owns WFAN, declined to comment.
Arthur Aidala, Benigno’s lawyer, declined to comment, saying he wasn’t aware of any decision made by WFAN.
Benigno, who is currently on vacation, was expected to be back on the air in his regular 10 a.m. slot Monday, but sources told The Post that Entercom, the owner of the station, is trying to resolve the situation first.
Benigno hosts the station’s mid-day show with Evan Roberts from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Roberts said on air Thursday he was aware of the suit but could not comment on it
The 64-year-old Benigno was accused in the lawsuit of sexually harassing former ad executive Laura Lockwood — allegedly pressuring her on several occasions into “threesomes” and then damaging her career after getting rebuffed. Lockwood also claimed the station, which was owned by CBS Radio during her tenure from 2006-2017, was run like a frat house. Lockwood was fired last year.
Aidala has said the radio personality is “denying everything she alleged” and he will defend the claims so that “Joe’s good name is cleared.”