Garrison Keillor Has Been Fired By Minnesota Public Radio Over Allegations Of ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

The day after former A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor insisted that Sen. Al Franken not resign over multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, the Associated Press reports that he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio following allegations of “inappropriate behavior.” In an email to the syndicated news outlet, Keillor claimed he had been fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.” He did not, however, provide any more details about the allegations against him, how many accusations there were, or what “story” he found so interesting.

A spokesperson for MPR News confirmed the organization has severed ties with Keillor but did not provide the AP nor anyone else with any detailed comments regarding the allegations. In an image posted by MPR News reporter Mukhtar Ibrahim to Twitter, many of his colleagues are seen standing in front of television screens watching the news unfold. In a subsequent tweet, Mukhtar said MPR had terminated its contracts with Keillor and “his private media companies after recently learning of allegations of his inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him.”

On Twitter, MPR News further confirmed Keillor’s firing and stated that they will no longer re-air his Prairie Home episodes. Further, they will rename the new incarnation of the program with host Chris Thile.

In a Washington Post op-ed on Tuesday, Keillor declared calls for Franken’s resignation following his own alleged sexual misconduct to be absurd. “On the flight home, in a spirit of low comedy, Al ogled Miss Tweeden and pretended to grab her and a picture was taken. Eleven years later, a talk show host in LA, she goes public, and there is talk of resignation,” the radio personality wrote. “This is pure absurdity, and the atrocity it leads to is a code of public deadliness. No kidding.”

(Via Associated Press, MPR News and Washington Post)