St. Louis police departments condemn and cut ties with local business owner after “highly offensive and abhorrent” comments about women officers

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – St. Louis police leaders are condemning local business owner Andy Frisella and cutting ties with his company, 1st Phorm after he made offensive comments about women in law enforcement on his podcast.

“Many of you are aware of the hateful comments made by Andy Frisella with 1st Phorm. His comments were disturbing and despite his attempts at retracting them, we are severing our relationship with his company,” read a statement from St. Louis County Police Chief Kenneth Gregory to his department. “Effective immediately, we will no longer be providing services to 1st Phorm via secondary employment, nor receiving donations of any kind or services from them through fitness and nutrition classes.”

On his podcast, Real AF Podcast, Andy Frisella made comments about police officers.

“That’s why in my opinion, women shouldn’t be in the (expletive) field and police officers. I just don’t think they should be.”

He continues to on the podcast to say, “every woman cop I’ve ever dealt with, every single (expletive) one that I’ve ever been pulled over by, try to make me feel like a (expletive) (expletive). No, that’s not a way to de-escalate a situation. Especially when you know that if that person didn’t have a badge or a gun, you could punch a hole through their (expletive) face and end their (expletive) life.”

Police across the St. Louis region immediately condemned the comments from the business owner with millions of followers across social media and YouTube.

“During this episode, Mr. Frisella made highly offensive and abhorrent comments about women in law enforcement. His statements crossed far over the line from criticism to sharing violent fantasies of killing policewomen. These statements are completely unacceptable and incompatible with the values we uphold,” said Derek Machens, President of St. Louis County Police Association.

The podcast has since been removed and Frisella posted an episode where he tries to clarify his remarks, as well as an apology episode on Saturday titled “I Messed Up & I’m Sorry.” It starts with him apologizing and referencing the podcast comments. “It doesn’t reflect who I am or what I feel in my heart,” he says in the apology episode.

“Although Mr. Frisella has since issued an apology, it was more focused on his past donations than expressing genuine remorse. Given the nature of his comments, this apology is insufficient. Such rhetoric is not only disgusting language but also fundamentally undermines the sacrifices made by our women officers,” said Machens in his statement.”

St. Louis City Police Chief Robert Tracy also said they will no longer work with Frisella.

“Female police officers are valued and respected members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Each day, they risk their lives in service to the City of St. Louis. Female officers are at the core of our agency, serving in various roles and ranks — from patrol and detectives to specialized enforcement and senior Commanders. His overall and disparaging comments do not reflect our views or core values and have no place in the SLMPD. We are severing ties with the organization,” said Chief Tracy.

This is a developing story.

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