Chron columnist CW Nevius, he who has championed efforts like sit/lie, closure of a Haight-area recycling center, and a Porche-drivin’ graffiti vigilante has a new cause: the SF man who was once described as “the worst husband in America.”
About two years ago, Noe Valley resident Steve Fowler was a tremendous asshole on the ABC show Wife Swap, where, in the words of SFist, he gave “the fine, upstanding, inclusive, nonjudgemental, eco-friendly dwellers of Noe Valley a bad name,” and inspired the site “Steven Fowler Sucks.”
His crimes? For those of you unfamiliar with the show, wives are swapped, so Fowler’s wife was for two weeks replaced by the wife of a mayor of a rural Missouri town, to whom he was, says Valleywag, “phenomenally cruel,” calling her fat and uneducated, among other indignities detailed in the above ABC7 report from the time of the show.
Though at the time Fowler wrote that he was “not going to hide behind excuses,” in an apology for his behavior on the show, two years, and one neighborhood opposed-addition Fowler’s hoping to add to his newish Eureka Valley home later, Fowler is now arguing through Nevius that his behavior was all an act, saying “I was going to be Simon Cowell on steroids. The producers made it quite clear they needed confrontation. Several days into the show they complained that I wasn’t giving them anything.”
Fowler appears to believe that his dubious fame’s one reason, in the words of Curbed, his neighbors hate him, one telling SF’s Planning Commission that his plan “is a massive project that will severely impact adjacent homes by blocking out light, air and privacy.”
“His comments were indefensible,” Nevius admits, before saying “But it can’t ruin his life. C’mon people, it is time to move on.”
And Fowler certainly has moved on — after being fired from his CFO gig after swapping wives, he’s now teaching a class at USF, Nevius reports. Yes, the same USF at the center of a firestorm regarding the sale of their locally-beloved radio station.
What on earth could Fowler be teaching?, you might be asking. I certainly was! Spokesperson for my alma mater*, Anne-Marie Devine, has promised to find out for us, and when she does, I’ll certainly update. Because I am dying to know!
Update: According to an anon source, in Fall of 2010, Fowler taught a 2 unit, graduate-level course entitled ‘Special Topic: Sustainable Business’ at USF, but he doesn’t appear in their schedule at any other time. I’m still hoping Devine gets back to me with more details, but it’s possible that fat, redneck students might be spared Fowler’s attentions. Whew!
Update 4:21 PM: Devine followed up with me, confirming that Fowler did indeed lead a “Sustainable Business” course last semester, but also confirmed that he’s not a regular faculty member at USF. “We have guest lecturers from time to time” she noted. Will the reality star be returning to the institution to teach again? Sadly, she could not say.
*can you call it an alma mater if you dropped out?
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