The Mayor of Somerville has a bone to pick with Barstool Sports and former WEEI radio host Kirk Minihane.
On Monday, Mayor Joe Curtatone filed a lawsuit against Barstool’s Minihane, claiming that the controversial sports talk radio host illegally recorded Curtatone during a fake phone interview in which Minihane allegedly fooled the mayor into thinking he was Boston Globe reporter.
“I have filed a civil lawsuit in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn against Kirk Minihane and Barstool Sports,” Curtatone posted on Facebook. “It’s a straightforward complaint. Minihane recorded himself breaking the law, impersonating a Boston Globe reporter [Kevin Cullen] to obtain an interview with me, then Barstool posted the interview on its website. It’s a clear violation of Massachusetts General Law, which forbids audio recording a person without his/her consent, and you can’t obtain that consent through fraudulent means.”
“Barstool flaunts its lack of respect for most things, but it needs to respect the laws that govern the business it conducts,” Curtatone continued.
Minihane addressed the lawsuit on Twitter, sharing Curtatone’s post and saying, “It took two hours for my first lawsuit?”
Minihane also tweeted, “Legally, all I can say is I am looking at a countersuit. For $500 billion.”
Barstool weighed in as well.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy Tweeted, “”Hey [Curtatone] what were the damages? You look like a bumbling idiot? Everybody already knows that.”
Portnoy pointed out that Minihane was not working for Barstool when the fake interview took place on June 6, though the inteview was posted on their site.
“I’m not doing this for personal gain. I’ll be donating any damages awarded from this suit to the RESPOND women’s shelter in Somerville. This is a simple case of holding Minihane and Barstool accountable for their deceptive and illegal behavior,” Curtatone said.
