GOSSIP: STEVE EDWARDS SCANDAL

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STEVE EDWARDS SCANDAL

Last night, people started asking me if I had any insights into the sudden firing of Steve Edwards from his morning show here in LA yesterday. That news came as as much of a shock to me as it had to everyone else in town! Steve had been a fixture on local television for as long as I can remember, and he was always thought of as a good guy, by everyone, including yours truly.

Digging deeper, it seems that there might be some “allegations of sexual misconduct,” as they say nowadays. I really can’t imagine that because of my own personal relationship with him, where nothing untoward ever happened! And there were plenty of opportunities. [Note: As of yesterday, the station hasn’t given a reason for his firing; this is all speculation, fueled by the extreme suddenness of the decision.]

steve_edwardsI’ve known Steve Edwards for decades; I even used to do a morning show with him. And he was one of the most supportive people of my career, and always made it known that he was a fan. But he never once tried anything inappropriate with me, even if we were alone together in his office. He never even said anything sleazy to me! And trust me, that put him in the minority of the show biz males I’ve run into over the years. (If you haven’t seen my Casting Couch video on my YouTube channel yet, now would be a good time. But finish reading this either before or after. Here’s that link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYKn2_EWaJM&t=10s.)

I first met Steve when I was doing my television show, Karen’s Restaurant Revue. I was at a party with my then-manager, Larry, who was friends with Steve. He told me right away that he was a big fan of my show. Then he told me that he had spied me at another recent event, something that he would tease me about endlessly ever after. The story goes that we were both in the Green Room for a private party after a music radio show on which Weird Al had just guested, and Steve said that he tried to catch my eye, but that I “snubbed” him. I really hadn’t even noticed that he was there. But even if I had, he was just a stranger who was on television, so I told him that, since he was the grown-up, especially one who was a fan of mine, and the more famous one of the two of us, he should have come up to say hi to me! He said that he had also seen me in another invited audience, so it was my turn to harangue him about not introducing himself.

But it all worked-out, and we wound-up doing several gigs together, always with him hosting some show or other, and me being either a guest or regular correspondent. And here’s a news flash—he was always lovely to me!

Now, mind you, I was a pretty young thing at the time, and got hit on all the time. All…the…time!!! Steve Edwards was one of the very few who was never, ever inappropriate with me!  Not even once! Heck, he never even flirted with me!

The first time we worked together is when he was interviewing me for some taped entertainment show. I remember what we were wearing, the outdoor location of the taping, and what we said, but not the exact series it was for; I did a lot of shows like that early on in my career, so many of them blend together. Steve was very kind to me. He said that he felt that I should have become nationally famous by that point, and not just in L.A., and even offered me a substantial amount of money to “seed my career.” How generous was that??? And there were no strings attached! Perhaps I was just naïve, and there would have been some down the line, but it sure didn’t seem that way. Even Mr. X said the offer was on the up-and-up. (And looking back on it now, maybe I should have taken it!)

steve_edwards_And then a few years later, I got to I work with Steve Edwards on a morning show back in the day. I loved working with him! He even went to bat for me, asking the powers-that-be to let me be one of his temporary co-hosts, (while they were working on finding a permanent one.) While he was trying to get that worked-out, he told them to have me do special remotes for the show, like showing affordable restaurant meals, cheering with football cheerleaders, and making healthful drinks at the beach. It was all so much fun, and all because of Steve. He was even kind enough to call me himself to give me the good news that my talent coordinator would be calling me with my first assignment. And again, not even a hint of impropriety.

And Steve gave me one of my favorite compliments ever! He said that he loves working with me so much because he’s “vanilla,” and I give him so much material to work off, which makes him look interesting and funny. I love that! But I always saw him as entertaining on his own because we laughed so much, both on and off camera.

And I never heard him say a disparaging word about anyone! He worked with some not-so-amusing people over the years, and wouldn’t even go along with me when I pointed it out. He basically told me that he enjoys everyone he’s ever worked with. How nice is that?!

I also have never heard even a whisper of him “sexually harassing” anyone! The only slightly negative talk I’ve ever heard about him was people wondering if he was faithful to his wife or not. But don’t people wonder that about everyone in show biz?!

So I, along with everyone else in this town, will keep an eye on the situation. I do realize that when TV personalities are let go with no notice, such as this case is, that usually means they have indisputable proof that at least one allegation is true. If that is the case, I feel sorry for the poor victim(s.) But I felt compelled to weigh-in and apprise you all of my non-story. And I’m, of course, hoping for the best for everyone concerned.

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4 Comments

  1. Yes you are and were VERY naive. Nothing is ever for free, especially in this business. Sexual harrassment comes in many forms – doing favors, showing favoritism, extraveggant gifts or offers of gifts, including money are all ways to “sexually harrass” a co-worker. Even if it never leads to anything, that kind of behavior is unprofessional in the work place mainly because most of the time it does lead to something. You were just lucky. Obviously you were young and beautiful and it was his obession with you at the very least, that made his behavior unprofessional. So he’s turned on by you and so you get all the promos and perks? How is that fair? Did he do the same with promising young men in the industry? Why not? See how it works? Maybe it was because you never asked him for anything in return and didn’t aceept his gifts or maybe he just got distracted by something or someone else. Still, you were lucky.

    • Karen Salkin on

      Thanks for weighing-in, but I promise you, Steve did absolutely nothing wrong. Many show biz higher-ups invest in the careers of others. I’m sure some people have not-pristine motives, but that was certainly not the case with Steve. Nor is it with lots of other successful people in the business. Helping people is the way that ALL industries should work. Lee Majors also did a good deed for me back in the day, with not a hint of impropriety. Some females did, as well. One woman from a major ad agency called my show to try to get me a major radio advertsisng campaign. She was a stranger to me, but I met her several years later, at an event, and she not only came to several of my tapings, but she and her husband lived near me and we became good friends. There was no ulterior motive there, either. When you’re a young girl in the business, you have to work hard to weed-out the creeps, which I’m proud to say I did pretty well. But, of course, I do not discount your skepticism.

      Karen

  2. One more very important point: sexual harrassment is about power. He used his power and influence to control the career of a young, beautiful co-worker, not because you were so uniquely talented. I’m sure you were but weren’t there also other talented people around you and did you really need his help? Was he often in the business of offering large amounts of cash to newcomers? Though that may be hard to hear, that is what sexual harrassment is all about. Even though nothing sexual ever happened between you two, you were still sexually harrassed. Whether you believe that or not about Steve, imagine if is was true (and it most likely was), wouldn’t you feel violated over Steve doing and saying those things to you just because he was sexually attracted to you? Of course. So, THAT’s what sexual harrassment is and THAT’s why it’s wrong. Just because you didn’t notice it happening and were naive enough to belive that an older man just wanted to give you money and use his power and influence to further your career out of the goodness of his heart doesn’t mean that sexual harrassment didn’t take place. So when the next woman DOES notice it and DOES say something and the whole scenario ends up playing out differently in her life, she deserves our full support. She does not need a bunch people coming to the guy’s defense saying things like, ” he was always nice to me, offered me money and helped my career – not sure what her problem is.” See how ridiculous you sound now? What, did you think he was this Good Samaritan Angel that came down into your life especially to help you and only you? That’s not how it works and not how human beings, especially well known men who are celebrity journalists in such an egoistic industry are wired.

    • RPSABQ; Your entire screed seems to be projection into Karen’s life, hoping that she’d agree with you. You must be so disappointed that she didn’t. She WAS an adult and not some starry eyed groupy when all this happened. She didn’t have to reveal what she thought of as a friendly mentor helping her career and your insinuating unsubstantiated pseudo psycho babble into her memories is YOUR form of sexual assault. Leave Karen alone.

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