Thursday, April 5, 2012

Keith Olbermann Disses Current: 'Those People Have No Idea What They're Doing'

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Keith Olbermann - H 2012
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Days after getting fired from Current TV, Keith Olbermann remains on the defense in an effort to explain his exit and clear up his diva-anchor reputation.

In an interview with the New York Post, the embattled newsman lambasted Al Gore's cable channel for poor quality and judgment, among other gripes.

"No surprise Im off their air now. I thought it might happen earlier. There were 83 strikes against it. Those people have no idea what theyre doing. With large amounts of money and people at stake, my idea was Hold On," Olbermann told the newspaper.

"Twenty-five friends, with me for years, came with me to Current. They needed job security. I love everyone, and with so much wrong with the operation I worried wed be canceled. I did all I could to make it work. Im hurt I let them down."

VIDEO: Olbermann Says He 'Screwed Up'

Olbermann, famous for his internal office dramas, was axed by Current last week, after which he threatened legal action against the network. Gore and co-founder Joel Hyatt announced the news on Friday, and replaced Olbermann's Countdown with the Eliot Spitzer-fronted Viewpoint.

"Well, up to last Thursday I got my money," Olbermann said Tuesday on CBS' Late Show. "The nice judge will decide whether or not I get more of my money. But quite seriously, you know, in that situation, what youre thinking is, 'Oh, Lord, this is probably going to hit the water at some point,' but what do you do? You have you could bail out and say, 'Im getting out of this immediately,' and trust me, I was thinking about that as early as like last July."

He added: "Wed been on the air about 10 days and they fired the guy who knew what he was doing who I worked for and I went, 'Uh-oh'."

Olbermann told the Post that, contrary to reports, he was game for covering major events during the presidential race, and that the truth would eventually "shake out in a lawsuit."

"Listen, I need 24 hours nonstop talking to get truths out. I dont know Currents new strategy. Their executives cant come off as if they failed. Their PR people are dumping on me. I contacted Al Gore, whose response was I must deal with Currents executives," he said.


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