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Rick Kirkham
Tiger King star Rick Kirkham was accused of sexual harassment against his former employee, Kacey Roberts, in a Facebook post alleging the former Inside Edition reporter “tried to destroy” her career.
It does not appear that Roberts is pursuing any legal action against Kirkham, or that there are any ongoing investigations into the allegation, which appears only in Roberts’ Facebook post. She did not detail specific offenses Kirkham allegedly committed against her, and the allegation has not been substantiated.
Kirkham was Roberts’ boss at KFBB in Great Falls, Montana in 2013 when she said he sexually harassed her. She wrote about the alleged harassment in a Facebook post March 26, 2020. It does not appear that Kirkham has responded publicly to the allegations.
Investigation Discovery is airing “The Truth Behind Joe Exotic: The Rick Kirkham Story” as part of its Nine at 9 series. The nine-day series concludes with the deep dive into the Tiger King at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday, June 2, 2020.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kacey Roberts Said on Facebook That Seeing Kirkham On Tiger King in Her Living Room ‘Felt Like Such a Violation’
When Kacey Roberts saw her former news director, Rick Kirkham, featured prominently on Tiger King, she decided to take to Facebook to lodge a sexual harassment allegation against the man who used to be her boss at a Great Falls, Montana TV station, KFBB. The allegation has not been substantiated. She wrote in the Facebook post March 26, 2020, that Kirkham would leave work to go to bars and drunkenly text the news team late at night. He would hand out prescription drugs on company property, she said.
She went on to call Kirkham “a manipulative con man” and “a predator” who “tried to destroy” her career. It does not appear that Kirkham has responded to the allegations.
Roberts wrote:
For those of you watching Netflix’s ‘Tiger King,’ Rick Kirkham was my News Director in Great Falls, Montana in 2013.
This man sexually harassed me and tried to destroy my career.
Rick would disappear for hours while on shift and take a station vehicle to various watering holes. He would drunk text and call the news team at all hours of the night and hand out prescription pills on company property.
Rick is a manipulative con man. He’s a predator. Seeing him in my living room felt like such a violation.
Responses to her Facebook post were mixed. Most people voiced their own opinions of Kirkham based solely on watching Tiger King. Others questioned why she was coming forward now and what she had to gain.
“You know you set that fire… can’t wait until you are in jail…. Free JOE!!!!!!” one person wrote.
Others were supportive, saying simply, “I believe you,” or sharing similar experiences at their own jobs with other people.
One woman wrote, “Kasey, I feel for you. I went thru this in the 70’s and left my job also. Would not sleep with my boss… I don’t really think it will ever change.”
Roberts left KFBB to work at WSFA-12 in Montgomery, Alabama, as a news anchor and reporter, then went on to work as a multimedia journalist for KEYT NewsChannel 3 in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties in California, according to her Facebook page.
Kirkham’s Facebook page said he now works as a freelance journalist, and lives in Norway. He married Kristin Kirkham in 2018.
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