Radio Host Accused of Domestic Abuse Had Court Papers Served On-Air

Two weeks ago, Russ Rollins, a radio host in Florida, was served with divorce papers by his ex-wife live on air, a situation that inspired lots of muttering about what ice-cold bitches women are. But the attorney for Rollins’ estranged wife says he staged the scene as a bit. However, the divorce filing is real; a local news station discovered it contains allegations of domestic violence.

Rollins, a shock jock-y morning host at Real Radio 104.1 in Orlando, appeared to be mid-sentence on air when a process server holding papers from his estranged wife Samantha Boomer appeared at the door of the studio. In the video, Rollins looked at the papers for a few moments, then remarked, “Wow, so she had me served on the air. That’s very nice.”

But according to WFTV, the scene was entirely staged: the process server filed an affidavit saying Rollins was aware why he was there and chose to be served on-air, then feigned surprise. Despite the unlikeliness of the set-up, the video went viral, with places like Barstool Sports making lots of hilarious jokes about what total cunts women are:

[W]hen a woman gets divorced she wants everything. Not even talking money. She wants that, but she also wants your pride, your balls, your future, your will to live. I mean this is just RUTHLESS. Humiliating a guy you agreed to spend your life with at his job, live on air, is about as low as it gets. Don’t get me wrong, I respect it. But damn is it low.

The filing, according to the WFTV, accuses Rollins of committing at least seven separate instances of domestic violence against his soon-t0-be ex, including choking and hitting her. The station also says it obtained a recording of a 911 call Boomer placed, although the date isn’t clear:

“I need a restraining order,” said Samantha Rollins to a 911 dispatcher.

In the call, she said she wanted it kept quiet.

“I can’t have it go public. He’s a public figure. I don’t want it going public,” she said.

An attorney for Rollins denied the abuse allegations and told WFTV that he hadn’t staged the scene. Boomer hasn’t publicly commented on the divorce, but on Facebook, Rollins has mentioned it several times, including a long, indifferently punctuated note where he remarks, “It’s crazy in life, thinking about the people you thought would be there with you, that aren’t. People you thought would be there forever, love you forever, and never turn their back on you, and they do.” In a separate note, he thanked a long list of female friends, or, as he put it, “people from my past that, to be honest, I was not allowed to talk to if I wanted to stay married.”