Truth rating: 10
6:28 pm, March 30th, 2012
(GettyImages.com)
(GettyImages.com)
Current TV fired Keith Olbermann on Friday – and now things are getting ugly.
The network’s founders, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, explained their decision to terminate Olbermann’s contract in a letter to viewers.
“Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers,” reads part of the announcement, continuing, “Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.”
His time slot will now be occupied by former New York governor Eliot Spitzer.
Olbermann, who came to Current about a year ago after leaving MSNBC, is furious and threatening to sue.
In a series of Twitter missives, the fired host calls out Gore and Hyatt as unethical, says their claims against him are “untrue,” and declares that he’ll be taking legal action.
The full “statement” reads as follows:
“I’d like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV.”
“Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally, while I’ve been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff. Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program, finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract.”
“It goes almost without saying that the claims against me implied in Current’s statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently. To understand Mr. Hyatt’s “values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty,” I encourage you to read of a previous occasion Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee. That employee’s name was Clarence B. Cain.”
“In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out. For now, it is important only to again acknowledge that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one. That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.”
Wow.
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