(NewsNation) — Jad Sleiman, a radio reporter for the National Public Radio affiliate in Philadelphia, has been reinstated to his position after being fired for a comedy routine deemed inappropriate by his employer.
Sleiman, 34, is to be fully reinstated to his position with WHYY after an arbitrator determined that, while the bits posted to social media could be interpreted as “inflammatory,” the organization “rushed to judgment” in its decision to terminate him.
The issue began when executives at WHYY discovered clips of Sleiman’s stand-up comedy routine posted on his personal social media account. The routine included jokes about the attractiveness of women and the 9/11 hijackers, among other controversial topics.
Officials at WHYY argued that his standup comedy violated the company’s code of conduct, social media guidelines and values of social responsibility, finding his routine to be “inflammatory.” They submitted nine videos from social media as their evidence. They argued the clips were “‘egregious’ in content, and had ‘sexual connotations, racial connotations, and misogynistic information,’” according to the arbitration documents.
During an interview on “Dan Abrams Live,” Sleiman expressed his surprise at being fired, stating that he did not expect his comedy routine to lead to termination. He argued that the clips were taken out of context and that he had been successful with similar material in live performances.
When asked about challenging the decision, Sleimansaid, “I think I had no choice. When a news organization, especially a public radio, NPR station fires you and says it’s for racism, sexism, homophobia, whatever, people believe them.”
Sleiman, an Arab American with a background in the U.S. Marine Corps and reporting in the Middle East, said his comedy routines were influenced by his experiences. The arbitrator recognized some of the clips as funny, insightful, principled and serious, but acknowledged the potential for them to be perceived as inflammatory.
Now reinstated, Sleiman expressed a desire to return to work, emphasizing that many people worked hard to get him his job back. He joked about wanting to “grow a beard and walk in there dressed like Muammar Gaddafi” but assured that he would make a good effort in his role.
As part of the arbitration process, arbitrator Lawrence Coburn reviewed each clip and said that while some or portions of the videos could be seen as inflammatory — “the very low standard in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that I am required to apply,” he wrote — he also found them to be sometimes “simply funny.”
He concluded that WHYY did not provide just cause for dismissal, as they failed to hear Sleiman’s side of the story before making the decision.
In a statement, WHYY said, “We’re evaluating the decision and the appeal options in next steps. While we do not agree with all the arbitrator’s conclusions, we certainly accept the arbitrator’s decision that Mr. Sleiman needs to permanently remove all inflammatory or offensive social media posts as a condition of any future employment.”
In one, Coburn noted that some of the commentary was “insightful, principled and serious, but not very funny.” “More important, I find that the message of the clip, if one is open to receiving it, cannot be interpreted to be inflammatory,” he continued.
For another, Coburn said “it is difficult to believe that a fair-minded person would find the clip inflammatory.”
“But the bar is very low, and WHYY’s 1.3 million person audience might have a few people who would find the clip inflammatory,” he added.
As part of the decision, Sleiman was to delete the nine videos cited. He was also asked to delete any “offensive post-discharge” posts where he disparaged the company for his firing. (Coburn found that, “under the circumstances, such ‘foolishness’ does not disqualify him from reinstatement.”)
Sleiman had been working as a reporter on The Pulse, a nationally syndicated health and science program, since 2018. He was terminated a year ago, after executives found his social media account — under Jad S. or @jadslay — that posted clips of his standup comedy.
Sleiman first turned to comedy in 2021, after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic illness that affects the central nervous system. One of his biggest fears, he said, was losing fine motor function and, with it, his ability to play the guitar and piano. But stand-up was a safe spot: There’s a stool if he needs to sit down, and a mic stand if he can’t hold the microphone.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
