Keith Olbermann has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against his former employer Current TV in the amount of $50 million. He has alleged that his ex-bosses at the television network, who fired him on March 30 and replaced him with new programming hosted by former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, disclosed the amount of his salary which violated his agreement.
Olbermann is also seeking a judge’s ruling that he did not disparage Current TV prior to be fired.
Joel Hyatt, Current co-founder (along with Vice President Al Gore), and network President David Borman were attacked repeatedly throughout the lawsuit as Keith claimed that the two were responsible for the majority of the problems on his show.
A network spokeswoman clearly conveyed the fact that they had no comment regarding Mr. Olbermann’s lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles.
Olbermann, who recently attacked his former employers on the airwaves while a guest on David Letterman’s late-night talk show, claims in the lawsuit he filed a mere two days after appearing on Letterman’s show that:
“Current’s dysfunction permeated all levels of the organization. After being on the air for nearly eight months – long after all ‘growing pains’ should have ceased – Current still couldn’t manage to, literally, keep the lights on.”
His complaints continued throughout the suit as he conveyed an array of technical issues which included equipment which would malfunction and cease to operate when it rained outside, guest calls which were dropped while on air without warning, teleprompters that failed to function properly, and a malfunctioning earpiece. All of which he believes amounts to his being owed by the network a hefty $70+ million.
While Olbermann “deeply regrets his decision to put his trust in Hyatt and Gore,” he also has ownership stake in the network, a network which he claims has lost value from mismanagement.
What do you think about Current TV’s decision to fire Keith Olbermann?