Joe Benigno | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1953-09-26)September 26, 1953 (age 72) Garfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Career | |
| Show | Joe & Evan |
| Station(s) | WFAN,New York City |
| Time slot | 2:00 pm – 06:00 p.m., Monday–Friday |
| Style | Sports radio |
| Country |  United States |
| Website | ohthepainpodcast.com |
Joseph S. Benigno (born September 26, 1953) is an Americansports radio personality. He was a co-host of theJoe & Evan show withEvan Roberts weekdays from 2 pm to 6 pm ET on the New York radio stationsWFAN-AM andWFAN-FM. His retirement was announced on October 28, 2020. After his radio retirement, Joe began hostingOh the Pain, a weekly podcast.
Benigno, who is ofItalian descent, was born inGarfield, New Jersey and grew up in nearbyParamus.[1] He graduated fromFranklin College in 1975 with a degree inpolitical science. Prior to joining WFAN, Benigno was a frequent caller to the station and was known on-air as "Joe fromSaddle River."
His first taste of radio experience occurred in 1994, when he guest-hosted a show on WFAN as a result of winning a contest held by the station. He then hosted a sports talk show on a radio station inElizabeth, New Jersey[2] before returning to WFAN as their overnight host in 1995. He continued as overnight host until November 2004, when he was moved to middays to co-host withSid Rosenberg after Rosenberg's previous co-host,Jody McDonald, did not have his contract renewed with the station. After Rosenberg resigned from the station on September 12, 2005, Benigno became the sole host of the midday show until January 2007, when he was paired withEvan Roberts.
Benigno also co-hostedDaily News Live onSNY.
Benigno was filling in for the vacationingBoomer and Carton in the Morning program on March 28, 2013 with his partner Roberts, when Benigno made disparaging remarks about having to get makeup done. (The program was simulcast onMSG.) Benigno said that he was annoyed about the chair time required for MSG's "11 viewers." TheBenigno & Roberts show scheduled to be broadcast onGood Friday via MSG was immediately cancelled.[3]
On April 25, 2013, Benigno faced criticism for jokingly saying he would "buy drugs forTyrann Mathieu" if theNew York Jets drafted him.[4]
Benigno released a book in April 2010, titledRules for New York Sports Fans.[5]
On July 18, 2018, a wide-ranging lawsuit was filed by former WFAN employee Lauren Lockwood against WFAN, WCBS, various WFAN executives, as well as Benigno, alleging, among other things, that "WFAN host Joe Benigno pressured her into having a threesome" and that Benigno "whispered in [Lockwood’s] ear about having ‘threesomes’ with him and his wife and prostitutes."[6] Through his representative, Benigno denied the allegations.[7] In response to the lawsuit, Benigno was placed on an indefinite leave of absence from the station, returning on a regular basis on September 10, 2018.
On October 28, 2020, Benigno announced that he would retire, with November 6, 2020 being his last show.[8] Benigno would later return to the station on a limited basis in 2022, appearing on Monday mornings during the NFL season during WFAN's mid-day show, as well as hosting a Saturday morning show withEvan Roberts.
Benigno resides inMahwah, New Jersey.
