‘False on every level’: WIP shoots back at Mike Missanelli

Back in 2015, 97.5 The Fanatic host Mike Missanelli exchanged insults in a months-long back-and-forth with former 94.1 WIP host Josh Innes amid a tight ratings battle that eventually escalated into a heated confrontation at Eagles practice.

Could history be repeating itself?

On Friday, Missanelli took to his show to address unspecified rumors that the station's annual Fantasy Fest celebration wasn't allowing women to attend this year.

"Women are welcome more than ever, because we're going to have a lot of guys there," Missanelli said. "Women can come in groups and meet new guys. It's fantastic for that."

But then Missanelli veered off into an attack on WIP host Jon Marks, his new afternoon rival and a former producer on Missanelli's show.

"I guarantee you that was started by the other station and their insecurities, because I have seen fake Twitter accounts that rip this show and laud that other show," Missanelli said. "Little Skippy over there that used to be my producer, is… I've been told is behind some fake accounts."

"So when you resort to creating fake accounts like Barbara Bottini, to rip the show, that shows a level of desperation," Missanelli added, referencing the wife of former Sixers president Bryan Colangelo and the Twitter scandal involving anonymous accounts that cost Colangelo his job.

Crossing Broad was first to report on Missanelli's comments.

WIP swiftly shot back, saying in a statement that "the allegation that Jon Marks or anyone at WIP would create fake Twitter accounts to spread misinformation is false on every level and totally baseless."

"I certainly wouldn't discount it," Missanelli told the Inquirer and Daily News. No one at The Fanatic has provided any examples of fake social media posts or evidence that Marks was behind them.

During the Colangelo scandal, Marks did admit to creating his own burner account – @MarksBurnerAcct – that he used at times to mock responses to his own Twitter account. But Marks was very transparent about the account being his, and discontinued using it back in 2017.

Marks poked fun at Missanelli's claims on Twitter by changing his screen name to Barbara Bottini and posting for a selfie next to a jar of Skippy peanut butter.

The claim comes as Missanelli is locked in a tight ratings battle with Marks and his co-host, former Eagles linebacker Ike Reese. The WIP duo narrowly defeated Missanelli in the 2018 winter ratings book, which uses data gathered from January through March to measure a show's popularity.

In 2016, former WIP host and current podcaster Tony Bruno claimed Missanelli was behind anonymous Twitter accounts that attacked both him and his longtime girlfriend, Robin Austin, though there was never any evidence to back up his claim. Austin used the opportunity to take a shot at Missanelli on Twitter.