CNN staffer was fired for track suits Piers Morgan ‘loved’: suit

Apparently, sombreros aren’t considered business casual at CNN.

A former CNN studio technician from Queens claims he was discriminated against and fired for being gay and for wearing extravagant clothes that included mariachi outfits, yellow track suits and cowboy hats.

In a $65 million Brooklyn federal lawsuit filed Thursday, William Kane claims that a supervisor, John Silva, hated his outfits and recommended that he transfer to the makeup or entertainment unit.

“I felt so insulted by what happened because we were a family at CNN,” Kane said. “I was fired with a phone call for being gay.”

Kane asserts that several on-air personalities — including Anderson Cooper and former talk-show host Piers Morgan — objected to Silva’s treatment of Kane
Kane said that Silva especially objected to a full mariachi suit — complete with sombrero — that he wore on set in October 2012.

The confrontation came after Kane officially informed Silva that he was gay after keeping his orientation a secret for 11 years at the network, the lawsuit claims.

Piers Morgan reportedly told Kane he ‘loved’ his signature track suits.WireImage

Silva told Kane that the Mexican ensemble was “too flamboyant for a male in our department.” Meanwhile, correspondents including Fareed Zakaria and Christiane Amanpour went wild for the getup, according to Kane’s court papers.

Kane told The Post that he wore the mariachi outfit one time because he had returned from Mexico with his boyfriend and knew that Zakaria was doing a segment on the nation.

Zakaria tried on the sombrero and Amanpour tweeted a picture with Kane, saying, “¡ARRIBA! The lovely Billy with our studio crew arrived on set in style today.”

Anchor Erin Burnett even told him he was the “best dressed man” who worked on her show, says the suit, which refers to a 2012 Page Six item that reported Burnett was the one trying to institute a dress code.

“Erin found the looks off-putting,” a source told Page Six.

The sartorial slugfest began in 2011, the lawsuit claims, when supervisor Bill McLoughlin offered Kane a $100 T.J. Maxx shopping spree “bribe” if he promised to change out of a track suit — supposedly because Morgan had objected to it.

“Piers, I was told that my track suits are a distraction to you,” Kane recalls telling Morgan.

“I never said that,” Morgan replied, according to the lawsuit.

Kane said he was booted from his work on studio shows before being fired last July.

His attorney, Rocco Avallone, said that Kane’s colorful clothes were just a pretext to can him after he came out as gay last year.

A CNN rep said she hadn’t seen the suit but claimed Kane’s complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had been tossed.