Garrison Keillor Has Been Fired
Radio host Garrison Keillor is the latest man in media to be fired over allegations of improper conduct.
Minnesota Public Radio announced Wednesday that it is severing ties with Keillor, who achieved national acclaim with his program A Prairie Home Companion, "after recently learning of allegations of his inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him." Here is the network's full statement:
The full statement from @MPR on Garrison Keillor: "MPR takes these allegations seriously and we are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive work environment for all employees and everyone associated with MPR." https://t.co/q01Ygb2xve pic.twitter.com/fiBnFi881c
- MPR News (@MPRnews) November 29, 2017
The 75-year-old responded to the allegations in an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, his hometown newspaper.
"I put my hand on a woman’s bare back. I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized," he wrote, in part. "I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called."
MPR said in its statement that it was notified of the allegations related to Keillor's conduct last month and subsequently conducted an investigation.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Keillor said it was "poetic irony to be knocked off the air by a story, having told so many of them myself. But I'm 75 and don't have any interest in arguing about this. And I cannot in conscience bring danger to a great organization I've worked hard for since 1969."
Keillor retired as host of the long-running public radio variety show in 2016. He hand-picked his successor, mandolinist and frequent musical guest Chris Thile, who is now in his second season as Prairie Home host. Keillor continued to work with MPR on other projects after his retirement.
Though it started as an off-beat variety show that lovingly skewered small-town Midwestern life, the nostalgic glow proved lucrative both for Public Radio International, which distributed the show, and Garrison Keillor himself, whom celebritynetworth.com reports is worth as much as $5 million. In 2002, he established Prairie Home Productions, a private company that sold PHC-related merchandise, produced themed cruises, and managed Keillor’s personal appearances.
Keillor also hosted The Writer's Almanac and The Best of A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Garrison Keillor, which had been rebroadcast. Effective immediately, these will no longer be distributed, and Thile's current incarnation of PHC will get a new name.
With reporting from the Associated Press
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