Maine TV weatherman is fired over bizarre incident involving pizza and ice cream

A meteorologist and food blogger from Maine said he was recently fired from his job, allegedly after he announced his decision not to tag the businesses he visited in his social media posts.

Jason Nappi, who served as the weatherman for News Center Maine for the last two years, said on Facebook on July 12 that he would no longer be tagging the restaurants - frequently lobster roll shacks and ice cream shops - he visited in his social media posts because it was a 'conflict of interest for the company that I work for.'

Nappi said he was allegedly fired for his use of social media. 

'The station chose to terminate my employment following my most recent post in which I explained why I was no longer tagging local businesses,' he said in an Instagram post on July 18.

News Center Maine declined to comment to the local paper Bangor Daily News, citing that Nappi's departure from the station was 'a personal matter.' News Center Maine did not immediately respond to the DailyMail.com's request for comment.

Meteorologist and food blogger Jason Nappi from Maine said he was recently fired from his job after he announced his decision to not tag the businesses he visited in his social media posts

The seasoned weatherman posted again on July 18, revealing to his audience that the local station decided to terminate him altogether for citing the Tegna news station as the one forcing him to stop and leaving them open to allegations of favoritism

'I'm certainly disappointed, as I feel like I did a lot of great work at the station over the last 2 years and I'll miss working there, but now I can focus on my passions -- talking about weather, food and participating in community events.

'I'm excited to explore even more of our great, local places and I look forward to seeing you out there!'

Prior to being hired at News Center Maine, which is made up of WCSH Portland and WLBZ in Bangor, Nappi had been a meteorologist for nearly 20 years at stations in Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia and other parts of Maine.

While his interest in weather started when he experienced a Nor'easter in Maine as a child, he told Bangor Daily News  his first love has always been food and supporting local businesses.

'I know how hard it is to keep a small business going,' Nappi said. 'That's one reason why I spend so much time and money going out to eat.'

Nappi has become a social media champion for Maine's culinary scene. 

With a verified Facebook page boasting more than 32,000 followers, the foodie said he has visited at least 100 Maine-based restaurants, ice cream stands and lobster shacks in the past year alone - his three favorite food groups.

This passion has translated to a significant online reach as he said his Facebook page garnered around 3 million viewers in 2023.

Nappi added he finds it difficult to cook at home after his mother died from cancer in 2023.

After the Bangor Daily News article went live, Nappi addressed the publication in a Facebook post, claiming parts of the article were incorrect, taken out of context, and misleading. He did not specify which details were inaccurate. News Center Maine had no comment when reached by Bangor Daily News, citing the firing as a personnel matter.

Nappi also did not immediately respond to the DailyMail.com's request for comment.