It wasn't just me, it was also her, former Weather Channel anchor Bob Stokes said Wednesday about sexual harassment allegations filed against him by a former co-anchor.

In a telephone interview Wednesday about the high-profile case, Stokes called claims that he sexually harassed and sabotaged the on-air performance of former co-anchor Hillary Andrews "totally bogus."

"The conversations between Ms. Andrews and I — and they were just conversations — were mutual," he said. "These conversations were a two-way street in which both of us engaged."

Andrews has filed suit against Stokes in Cobb County Superior Court, contending Stokes became sexually obsessed with her when she began working at the cable network in 2003.

On Wednesday, Stokes, 50, said he was "not a person who deliberately tries to inflict emotional distress on another human being. I don't do that. I wanted us both to succeed."

Before Andrews sued Stokes individually, she lodged negligence and retaliation claims against The Weather Channel.

After hearing evidence, arbitrator Hunter Hughes, an Atlanta lawyer, awarded Andrews $37,500 on her negligence claim but ruled against her retaliation claim.

Hughes' award was recently unsealed by a federal judge in Atlanta. Andrews' lawyers intend to use it as evidence in the pending case in Cobb County.

In a 17-page decision issued Jan. 31, Hughes called Stokes "a human relations nightmare. His passive aggressive 'me first' personality was known by everyone who dealt with him for any appreciable period."

Stokes's sexual harassment of Andrews was "severe and pervasive," particularly during late 2004 and early 2005, Hughes said. He added Andrews could have put a stop to it earlier if she brought it to management's attention promptly.

There had been prior complaints, resulting in written warnings, against Stokes before he began working with Andrews, Hughes said.

Then-Weather Channel senior vice president Terry Connelly set the tone how the station would deal with Stokes, Hughes said.

"He could have ensured that Mr. Stokes unequivocally understood that his antics would not be tolerated," he wrote. "But he did not. ...Instead, his myopic focus was on ratings and the bottom line. That 'attitude at the top' was the key to TWC's failure to ensure that Mr. Stokes would not continue his abusive and destructive antics with others, including Ms. Andrews."

Stan Wilson, a lawyer for The Weather Channel, said, "The evidence showed that company officials did take action when these issues were finally raised by her."

Andrews's lawyer, Daniel Klein, declined comment.

Stokes was fired from his anchor position after Hughes issued his decision, according to court records.

Hughes also said Stokes undermined Andrews' work on the air. He would take more than his allotted time, ask her embarrassing questions on the air, "melt down" during the show, read her script and use unanticipated on-air graphics changes.

On Wednesday, Stokes strongly disagreed, saying Hughes did not hear his side of the story during hearings leading up to the decision.

"I never tried to sabotage her," he said. "That is totally false.... I disagree strongly with the arbitrator's decision. I believe he heard largely just one side of the story and bought it hook, line and sinker."