Bitching At The Source

A Manhattan federal jury awarded former Source editor-in-chief Kimberly Osorio $15.5 million in gender discrimination judgment against the hip-hop magazine and founders David Mays and Raymond “Benzino” Scott October 23rd.

Osorio is also entitled to punitive damages for unlawful termination, the jury ruled.

A Manhattan Federal Court jury found that the former editor-in-chief was unlawfully retaliated against after she filed a gender discrimination complaint with the hip-hop publication’s VP of human resources, Julie Als.

Scott was also held liable for defamation in the case for comments made on a radio show after Osorio was terminated, in which he suggested she had bed-hopped with several in the hip-hop community.

During the trial, Osorio’s attorneys presented a recording of a telephone answering machine tirade that made the rounds on the Internet in which Scott called music journalist and Ozone Magazine founder Julia Beverly an “ugly bitch pig” and a “slut monkey.”

Osorio testified during the trial that The Source maintained a raunchy workplace where execs watched porn, smoked pot and called female employees “bitches,” according to the New York Daily News.

“I’m very happy that the jury believed in me,” Osorio said after the trial.

“The verdict shows that all women must be treated with dignity and respect, no matter what industry they work in,” said Ken Thompson, lead counsel for Osorio, in a statement.

Source attorney Mercedes Colwin said they plan to appeal the verdict, according to the New York Daily News.