Radar Radio has put out a statement on Twitter saying it's suspending broadcasting until it is "in a position to address the recent commentary around aspects of the station."
That "recent commentary" refers to two major statements made against the station this month. On April 5th, Pxssy Palace announced they were ending their residency at the radio station in a three-part Instagram statement. They made the decision to leave Radar "after a string of disappointing experiences," which include "organisational racism," "allowing the airing of sexist homophobic and transphobic shows," cultural appropriation and paying staff little to nothing at all.
After three days, Radar posted a statement to their site:
"We don't agree with all the opinions in that statement but like most organisations we know we are capable of making mistakes and have to be vigilant to maintain standards... We unreservedly apologise to anybody who has felt unsafe or discriminated against at Radar Radio, either via programming or content or within the building. This was never our intention."
One of Pxssy Palace's listed points, "Creating an uncomfortable and toxic work environment which has led to the departure of many women of colour staff," prompted former Radar producer Ashtart Al-Hurra to come forward. Al-Hurra published her story, titled I'm A Woman Of Colour Who Was Mistreated At Radar Radio—Their Reaction To Pxssy Palace's Leaving Statement Is Absolute Trash. Here's Why on April 13th, which began to circulate widely on April 16th. In it, she describes her nine-month experience working at Radar, during which she was sexually harassed "like, fucking tonnes, by dickhead DJ dudes" and that women at the station spread sexually explicit rumours about her.
Al-Hurra, who is a survivor of abuse, also details what happened when she spoke out about the environment at Radar. One unnamed senior employee confronted Al-Hurra after she voiced complaints on Facebook without mentioning Radar by name. This senior staffer asked Al-Hurra to detail the harassment she experience and responded, "It's just boys being boys."
This resulted in Radar bringing in an HR person from Eacotts, which deals with Sports Direct. (Ollie Ashley, who runs Radar Radio, is the son of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley. Radar Radio is funded by MASH Holdings Limited, which was investigated for its labour practices.) Al-Hurra elaborates on this "exhaust[ing]" HR process, as well as having to sign a non-disclosure agreement:
"They made me sign a confidentiality form declaring that I would not reveal any of this information to anybody without the permission of Ollie Ashley or a member of Eacotts. They also asked me not to post any material 'in any way related to Radar Radio, the Ashley family or the music community' online. Obviously, I'm violating the fuck out of that shit right now, but that's what Radar gets for pretending to be 'uncensored' while actually censoring the shit out of women of colour."
In the wake of Pxssy Palace's and Al-Hurra's statements, many DJs, labels, and producers affiliated with Radar Radio have publicly cut ties with the station and voiced support of Al-Hurra and Pxssy Palace. Objects Limited tweeted early this morning that they would no longer work with Radar, followed by Planet Mu, Club Chai, Tobago Tracks, Ikonika, Object Blue, Conducta, Jumping Back Slash, India Jordan, Altered Natives, Henry Fry, Style And Grace, Strict Face, Jabu and more.
Radar Radio has not yet returned Resident Advisor's request for comment.