Word is that ABC has suspended Barbara Fedida, a senior ABC News executive in charge of talent for making insensitive comments.

The Huffington Post writes that Fedida was sitting in a meeting with colleagues discussing fraught contract negotiations with one of ABC’s biggest stars, “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts.  Fedida felt that Roberts had gotten enough. Fedida then asked what more Roberts could want and said it wasn’t as if the network was asking Roberts to “pick cotton,” according to one source who was in the room and witnessed the exchange. 

Fedida has been the subject of more than a dozen human resources complaints and was the subject of a human resources investigation in 2016 that led ABC News to hire an executive coach for her, sources said. Staffers at ABC News who knew about the investigation told HuffPost they were stunned that it did not end in her dismissal.

“To say that she’s an abusive figure is an understatement,” said one former ABC News employee.

In a statement from her attorney, Fedida said: “Throughout my career, I have been a champion for increased diversity in network news. Building a news division where everyone can thrive has been my life’s mission. I am proud of my decades of work of hiring, supporting and promoting talented journalists of color. And, unlike these heartbreaking and incredibly misleading claims about me, that track record is well-documented and undeniable.”

Full story at HuffPo