This is how the music and radio industry generally works when a high‑profile personality is facing serious allegations. Concerning our experience working in this business over several decades, we’re going to look at the Big Tigger situation at V‑103 through the history of that station, how Audacy operates, and how these decisions usually get made behind the scenes.
For people outside Atlanta, V‑103 is not just another FM. Since the late 1970s, when the station flipped to the “V‑103” moniker and an urban contemporary format, it has been one of the dominant Black music and culture brands in the market, often number one or number two in the ratings. In the late 1980s and 1990s, “Mike and Carol in the Morning” with Mike Roberts and Carol Blackmon became one of Atlanta’s top‑rated morning shows, built on a simple premise: educate, entertain, and inform, with interactive bits like “Battle of the Sexes” and heavy community involvement.
When Mike Roberts retired and Carol Blackmon stepped away in the late ’90s, Frank Ski took over the reins, and from 1998 to 2012, “Frank Ski and Wanda in the Morning” defined the early‑morning sound of V‑103 and consistently ranked among the highest‑rated shows in the market. Along the way, the station became a launchpad for talent like Robin Roberts, who, while working as a sports anchor in Atlanta in the late ’80s, also hosted on V‑103 before going on to ESPN and eventually “Good Morning America.” So when we talk about V‑103 mornings, we’re talking about a decades‑long heritage pipeline of Black radio and TV talent, not just a single show.
Today, that heritage sits inside a very different ownership structure. Audacy, formerly Entercom Communications, is a Philadelphia‑based, multi‑platform audio company that’s evolved from a classic radio group into what it now brands as an audio powerhouse. It owns a little over 220 AM and FM stations across roughly 45 to 47 U.S. markets, reaches well over 160 million monthly broadcast listeners and more than 200 million across digital and podcasts, and generates around 1.3 billion dollars in annual revenue. That makes it the number‑two radio owner in the United States by station count and revenue, with major obligations to advertisers, investors, and lenders.
Within that portfolio, Atlanta’s V‑103 is one of Audacy’s key urban brands. In April 2026, the company announced a refreshed weekday lineup: “The Big Tigger Morning Show” from 6 to 10 a.m., Danie B in middays, Greg Street in afternoons, and Frank Ski returning on Sundays. That reset, effective May 11, shows how recently Audacy reaffirmed Big Tigger as the morning franchise for V‑103 and a central part of its Atlanta and digital strategy.
With that history in mind, here’s what we know right now about Big Tigger’s situation. Multiple outlets have reported that Big Tigger, Darian Morgan, has been named as a suspect in a domestic‑dispute investigation involving his wife, Alicia Brown. Those reports, based on police documents, describe a May incident after which Brown appeared with visible facial injuries, sought medical treatment, and was later transported to a hospital, triggering a police investigation.
Big Tigger has issued a public statement categorically denying the allegations. He has called the accusations circulating online false and stressed that he and his co‑host, Francesca Amiker, have only ever had a professional, collegial relationship. We are not attorneys and nothing here is legal advice; we’re commenting as industry professionals on what this kind of posture usually means for a company like Audacy.
From a legal‑process standpoint, what’s important is that this is currently described as an investigation. Public reporting on the police documents indicates that Tigger is identified as the suspect in a domestic‑dispute case, but there is no clear confirmation at this time that prosecutors have formally filed charges, or that a judge has issued a no‑contact or employment‑related order. For a broadcaster, there is a big difference between “named in an investigation” and “charged, tried, or convicted,” and that difference drives what they think they can or cannot do under a talent contract and any morals clause.
Based on the available reporting, the most likely law‑enforcement sequence is fairly standard: Brown’s injuries are documented; police open a domestic‑dispute investigation with Tigger listed as the suspect; and investigators begin collecting statements and medical records to determine whether there is enough evidence to support criminal charges. Until a prosecutor actually files those charges or a court issues specific orders, the police role is focused on investigation, not on making employment decisions for a private radio station.
On the corporate side, Audacy’s initial response also fits a familiar pattern in large media organizations. Once Brown’s posts and the related reports gained traction and it was clear there was an open investigation, there was a brief period where Tigger was not on the air. That kind of short removal is typically used to give legal, HR, and senior programming leadership time to review the situation, look at contracts and internal policies, and quietly gauge risk with key advertisers and agencies.
Behind closed doors, it’s highly likely Audacy required Tigger to meet with management and clearly state his position regarding the allegations. A company that owns more than 200 stations and depends on both local and national ad dollars generally does not return a host who is at the center of a public investigation without documenting what he told them. His categorical public denial does double duty: it speaks to listeners, and it gives Audacy something concrete to point to if a brand or an agency asks, “Why is he still on the morning show?”
Given what is publicly known, the internal conclusion was likely that this is, at this moment, a personal legal matter in the investigative stage, with no filed criminal charges, no workplace‑specific allegations, and an on‑record denial from the talent. In that lane, many large radio groups adopt a “monitor and document” approach rather than immediate termination, while reserving the right to move quickly if the legal status changes.
V‑103 has been here before, in a different way. Several years ago, longtime Atlanta radio personality Wanda Smith, then part of the station’s morning show with Frank Ski, became the center of national attention after a highly publicized on‑air exchange with comedian Katt Williams. The segment went viral, and an incident at a comedy club later that night — where her husband was accused of confronting Williams and allegedly brandishing a firearm — led to a police response and another round of coverage.
Industry people close to that situation have said that, in the aftermath, there was interest in Wanda participating in national news coverage to help give the station’s perspective, and that she declined. That moment was seen by some inside the business as a narrow window for V‑103 to shape the narrative on a national level before the clip simply became context‑free viral content. Wanda later explained in interviews that she did not view herself as a comic who enjoyed back‑and‑forth roasting, which helps explain why the exchange escalated the way it did. And according to accounts from comedians who were there that day, they were confronted outside the station by people who were happy to see Katt “go off” on Wanda and who told them she deserved it — a clear sign of how quickly public sentiment can turn on a host once a moment escapes the local market.
Katt Williams later revisited the situation on platforms like “Club Shay Shay,” keeping that story alive in national conversation. Not long after the incident and its fallout, Wanda Smith’s role at V‑103 ended, in moves that local coverage tied both to the controversy and to broader programming changes at the station. Again, that case is not identical to what is happening with Big Tigger, but it is part of the historical context: at a heritage brand like V‑103, once something becomes a national talking point, management sometimes decides very quickly that the morning show has become more of a liability than an asset.
Wanda remained a respected figure in Atlanta radio, and when she passed away in 2024, Audacy and V‑103 highlighted her legacy with tributes from colleagues — including Big Tigger and other staff — recognizing her impact on the station and the market. That history, combined with the current situation, is the backdrop for how any controversy around morning talent is going to be evaluated in that building.
When you put all of this together, Big Tigger’s return to the air should not be read as a legal clearance. It’s a corporate risk decision at a specific point in time: investigators are still doing their work; there are no publicly known charges or court orders limiting his ability to work; he has publicly denied the allegations; and Audacy has just rebuilt its weekday lineup around his brand in a highly competitive urban market where V‑103 has decades of heritage to protect.
In that context, large groups often choose continuity, with legal and PR teams watching every development and documenting internal decisions, rather than immediately removing a heritage host at the investigative stage. But as Atlanta has already seen with other morning shows on that same frequency, if the legal posture shifts or the national narrative turns, those decisions can change quickly.
From our perspective as industry professionals, this is not a TMZ story. It’s a case study in how a major Black‑format heritage station and a national radio group balance legal risk, advertiser relationships, and the value of a long‑standing brand voice under extreme public pressure. We’ll continue to follow it in that context — as part of the ongoing story of V‑103’s legacy in Atlanta and the business of Black radio.
