St. Louis anchor claims former KC on-air partner was paid more because of race

has grown more interesting.

Conners was recently fired from his anchoring gig after posting a Facebook missive suggesting his problems with the IRS may have stemmed from a “tough” interview with President

last year.

Conners later said his IRS problems pre-dated the interview, although he has since said a repayment plan with the agency went awry after the one-on-one with the prez.

KMOV recently fired Conners, and

he’s responded with a discrimination complaint

.

But in that filing, Conners says he actually had problems with KMOV in 2010, after he complained that he was paid less than co-anchor

.

“I claimed that I received less compensation than Newton because of my race and gender,” Conners’ complaint says.

Conners is a white male. Newton, who worked at KMBC and WDAF in Kansas City, is an African American woman.

Conners says his complaint about Newton went to arbitration, which ended in April 2012. It isn’t clear from the complaint if the arbitration resulted in any extra money for him.

Newton is no longer with the station.

This story was originally published May 31, 2013 at 11:31 AM with the headline "St. Louis anchor claims former KC on-air partner was paid more because of race."