Bill Laitner

Detroit Free Press

WDIV-Channel 4 news reporter Lauren Podell has resigned from the station following allegations she uttered a racial slur off the air in a conversation with a coworker.

The 31-year-old Podell's departure was confirmed Wednesday by station management, which declined further comment.

The incident was first confirmed in an e-mail sent Monday by WDIV Vice President Marla Drutz to a Detroit minister, who had demanded that the station apologize to Detroiters. On Thursday morning, the Rev. W.J. Rideout led a protest outside WDIV's studios on West Lafayette in downtown Detroit, where about three dozen people joined him and called for boycotting the station, said Rideout, who is pastor of All God’s People Church.

Among those at the protest were political activist Sam Riddle, the former chief of staff to former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, both of whom served time in prison after being convicted in a bribery scheme.

Podell did not respond to a voicemail left Thursday on her cell phone. In WDIV's e-mail sent Monday to Rideout, Drutz said she was "very sorry that this happened." She said that the incident took place six months ago, and that “it was investigated swiftly and thoroughly and appropriate action was taken.”

►Riley:What's next for WDIV's Carmen Harlan?

►Related: TV anchor with MS leaving Fox 2 to join medical marijuana fight

Although Drutz did not mention Podell by name, by Wednesday Podell had resigned, said Jamie Walters, WDIV's Creative Services & Programming director. The station had no further comment on Thursday, Walters said in an e-mail. Drutz did not respond to a voicemail request for comment. The station has removed Podell's bio from its website.

Podell, the daughter of longtime WCSX-FM (94.7) radio DJ Doug Podell, is a nine-year veteran of WDIV. She is a graduate of Oakland University and began her stint at WDIV as its traffic reporter.

Rideout said Podell's alleged use of the N-word came to his attention only a few days ago. That’s when Rideout’s friend, Riddle, posted what Riddle said he'd recently heard "from unimpeachable, multiple sources in the media" that Podell had told a coworker. The posting referred to Podell's alleged use of the N-word in referring to not wanting to cover certain stories.

Drutz implied in her e-mail that the alleged quote was not entirely accurate. She wrote that "a situation did occur more than six months ago, when an unacceptable off-air comment was made by a reporter in front of a coworker, but not as quoted on social media."

Drutz told the Free Press on Tuesday that the incident occurred last March.

"As also mentioned, the original social media post was not an accurate quote and it suggested that our reporter made those specific remarks on-air. This is untrue. You also asked if any action was taken against her and yes, action was taken," Drutz said. "However, as you can understand, this is a personnel matter."

Riddle said Thursday that he had "posted the approximate language used by a well-known WDIV reporter.”

Rideout gained media coverage over the summer for leading anti-Donald Trump protests. This week, the activist pastor, also known for leading picket lines at fast-food restaurants in support of a higher minimum wage, said he saw a link between Podell’s alleged comments and the attitude of intolerance fostered in this election year.

“In the Trump-orchestrated era that we’re in now, this is a dehumanizing word of torment. That’s why, even though she resigned, we’re still going to protest” on Thursday, Rideout said.

“She is a news reporter and supposed to be concerned about the community. If you’re going to work with black people, Latinos, Jews, what have you, you’re supposed to be able to work without bias,” he said.

Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com