• Keith Olbermann sues Current TV

    By Matthew Belloni, The Hollywood Reporter

    Jason Kempin / Getty Images

    The war of words between Keith Olbermann and Current TV is now officially a legal battle, with the fired anchor filing a lawsuit Thursday accusing his former employer of breach of contract, sabotage and disparagement, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

    Read the full complaint on THR.com

    According to the 43-page, eight-count complaint, filed Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Patty Glaser of L.A.'s Glaser Weil firm, Olbermann was terminated without cause a year into his five-year, $50 million contract with the left-leaning TV network. He claims he is owed between $50 million and $70 million in damages based on breach of contract and other causes of action.

    "This action is necessary as Current has repeatedly and willfully breached its written agreement with Olbermann, often continuing to do so after receiving specific notices to cure such breaches," states the complaint, filed on behalf of Olbermann and his company Olbermann Broadcasting Empire Inc.

    In a statement provided to THR, Current responds:


    "It is well established that over his professional career, Mr. Olbermann has specialized in pounding the table. However, Mr. Olbermann, by filing his false and malicious lawsuit, has now put this matter into a legal process where there will be an objective review of the facts. We hope Mr. Olbermann understands that when it comes to the legal process, he is actually required to show up."

    Photos from THR: Hollywood's biggest blunders

    The suit has been anticipated since Current sent Olbermann's representatives a letter March 29 terminating his services. The network co-founded by Gore and Hyatt claims Olbermann was often absent from the job, missing 19 of 41 workdays in January and February. The anchor also allegedly refused to promote other Current shows. Olbermann claims he was provided substandard facilities (the lights allegedly went out in the studio on a couple of occasions) and was forced out even though he's under contract.

    Olbermann uses the legal filing to take some shots at Current co-founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, as well as Current TV president David Bohrman, who is referred to as a "an individual without relevant experience."

    "Current's dysfunction permeated all levels of the organization," the suit claims. 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. Since the time Hyatt crowned himself CEO, the ["Countdown"] program was plagued by further logistical nightmares, technical failures and media disasters."

    Olbermann also cites the following breaches of his contract:

    1. Broadcasting advertisements containing Olbermann's likeness without his consent.

    2. Using guest hosts for Olbermann's program without obtaining Olbermann's approval

    3. Refusing to allow Olbermann to exercise his contractually granted editorial control over special election coverage.

    4. Disclosing the confidential terms of his contract.

    5. Linking Olbermann's name and goodwill with corporate endorsements without his consent.

    6. Ignoring Olbermann's consultation rights.

    7. Disparaging Olbermann publically.

    8. Refusing to invest resources and hire appropriate personnel in order to professionally and competently produce the program.

    Current has paid Olbermann the first installment of his $10 million-a-year deal. The fight over the rest now will move to the courtroom.

    "Well, up to last Thursday I got my money," Olbermann said Tuesday on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." "The nice judge will decide whether or not I get more of my money."

    The suit alleges causes of action for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and six requests for declaratory relief over claims relating to his contract. 

    Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

    Related content:

    More in The Clicker:

    Show more
    Explore related topics: ,

  • 'I screwed up,' Olbermann says of working at Current

    By Philiana Ng, The Hollywood Reporter

    Jeffrey R. Staab / CBS

    Days after Keith Olbermann's sudden ouster from Current TV, the political commentator addressed his departure from the cable network with David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" on Tuesday.

    “I screwed up," Olbermann said after Letterman asked whether Current TV and former president Al Gore knew what they were doing. “I screwed up really big on this. Let’s just start there. I thought we could do this. It’s my fault that it didn’t succeed in the sense that I didn’t think the whole thing through."

    Photos from THR: Keith Olbermann's famous feuds

    Olbermann continued: "I didn’t say, ‘You know, if you buy a $10 million chandelier, you should have a house to put it in. Just walking around with a $10 million chandelier isn’t going to do anybody a lot of good, and it’s not going to do any good to the chandelier.' And then it turned out we didn’t have a lot to put the house on to put the chandelier in, or a building permit, and I, I should have known that. And it is, it is my fault at heart.” 

    “You’re the chandelier?” Letterman asked. “I’m the chandelier,” Olbermann answered. “You are always pointing out how big my head is, so I think it’s a suitable analogy.”

    The outspoken personality elaborated further, bringing up his past appearance last September on "Late Show" when he did the Top 10 list on Letterman's show poking fun at his gig at Current TV. It featured Olberman reading No. 2: “Better watch now because things could go wrong in a hurry.” “We made that up the next day,” Olbermann said after giving Letterman a button with that exact saying, “because as I was saying, as you just said, if you know it’s not going to work or you suspect it’s not going to work, it doesn’t mean you stop trying to make it work.”

    When Letterman asked whether Olbermann would see all of his contract money, Olbermann -- who threatened legal action against Current TV -- was frank.

    “Well, up to last Thursday I got my money,” he said, before alluding to troubles early on in his stint. “The nice judge will decide whether or not I get more of my money. But quite seriously, you know, in that situation, what you’re 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 'I’m getting out of this immediately', and trust me, I was thinking about that as early as like last July. We’d 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'."

    "But I went home and just sort of had a conversation with myself and said, ‘Look, these – the two important groups that are more important than what I do about myself – the audience who went to struggle to find where the network was and join me, and, most importantly, the staff'," he said, adding later, "I’m so proud of [the staff] because the show editorially was never better, but I let them down because the thing didn’t continue.”

    Photos from THR: Hollywood's biggest blunders

    Olbermann and Letterman also discussed the matter of Olbermann's unhappiness over car service issues.

    "The story is that we changed car services a couple times. I got rid of them. Maybe there were like eight different car services," Olbermann told Letterman after the talk show host asked about a story that said he was upset about how the transportation was handled at his former employer. "The problem that's left out of that side of the story was that in at least one occasion, the car service stopped coming to get me because the bill hadn't been paid. And I know that makes me Attila the Hun because the bill wasn't paid."

    And according to Olbermann, there were issues on the set of his show: "The lights went out a couple times during the show." The possible reason? "I don't think we paid the electric bill," Olbermann said, adding, "I come back from a commercial break and they started to get brown. They started to get dimmer and I thought, 'Here it comes. Mom always said this would happen.' "

    Earlier in the interview, the two traded some good-natured jokes about the entire ordeal.

    “How long ago did you leave MSNBC to go to the Current TV show?” Letterman asked. “It’s over a year, right?”

    THR cover story: The confessions of Keith Olbermann

    “I don’t know,” Olbermann said. “I have to consult my notes because after a certain point, I can’t keep track of where I’m working. I don't have any idea." Letterman then proceeded to give Olbermann an "adjustable business card."

    (TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal, which operates MSNBC TV.)


    Current terminated its contract with Olbermann last Friday approximately one year after he joined the network. Eliot Spitzer replaced him with a new program, "Viewpoint With Eliot Spitzer," that evening, which made no mention of Olbermann. Network founders Gore and Joel Hyatt issued a letter Friday announcing the parting of ways.

    Do you miss Olbermann's Current show? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

    More in The Clicker:

  • Current TV fires Keith Olbermann

    By Lucas Shaw, TheWrap.com

    Current TV has fired Keith Olbermann, a network spokeswoman told TheWrap.

    The controversial news host has been at the fledgling cable channel for less than a year, but the relationship has been rocky since the get-go and individuals on both sides of the dispute accused the other of breaching contract.

    Olbermann will not get the opportunity to sign off on air, as Eliot Spitzer will replace him starting Friday night, the network announced.

    More from TheWrap.com: Rift between Olbermann, Current deepens

    Current informed Olbermann of his dismissal Thursday morning, and in a note on Friday Current co-founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt made their displeasure clear.

    Olbermann quickly responded on Twitter, threatening legal action.

    He also apologized to viewers, but said he had to end his show after he was unable to resolve his differences with Current executives. 

    "I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV. Editorially, Countdown had never been better," Olbermann tweeted.

    "But for more than a year I have been imploring @AlGore and @JoelHyatt to resolve our issues internally," he added, saying that they had instead publicized their disputes. 

    Olbermann's attorney Patricia Glaser confirmed to TheWrap that they will sue Current.

    "They made a bad decision. They can expect a bad result," Glaser said, adding that they would be filing a complaint next week.

    More from TheWrap.com: Al Gore: What Olbermann will do for Current TV

    According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, that dispute was part of a larger chain of errors by Olbermann, who was fired for a "serial, material breach of his contract" such as the failure to show up to work, sabotaging the network and attacking Current.

    That individual said Olbermann missed 19 of 41 working days during January and February and asked for vacation the night before Super Tuesday, giving the network "strong legal foundation" for dismissing Olbermann.

    Glaser descibed said claims as "hogwash."

    Olbermann's contract not only paid him a hefty sum, but gave him equity in the network. He also held the title of Current's Chief News Officer.

    This was but the very messy culmination of a lengthy back and forth between Current and its star, who has a long history of butting heads with his bosses, having previously tangled with them at ESPN and MSNBC.

    (TODAY.com is powered by msnbc.com, which is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal, which operates MSNBC TV.)

    Olbermann got into a contretemps with Current over his role during Republican primary election coverage last December. Back in early January, executives at Current TV said that relations – especially those with Current CEO Joel Hyatt – were at a breaking point after deteriorating over several months.

    Olbermann declined to cover the Iowa caucus when he learned he would have to share the hosting chair with others.

    His show on Current was hailed as the centerpiece of its transition towards progressive programming, and Current has added two prime time evening shows and two morning shows to its lineup.

    "Countdown" will now be replaced by "Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer."

    Spitzer, the former governor of New York, has minimal broadcast experience, having previously hosted the low-rated CNN show "In The Arena." 

    Here is the full memo from the Current website:

    To the Viewers of Current:

    We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet.  We are more committed to those goals today than ever before.

    Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers.   Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it. 

    We are moving ahead by honoring Current's values.  Current has a fundamental obligation to deliver news programming with a progressive perspective that our viewers can count on being available daily -- especially now, during the presidential election campaign.  Current exists because our audience desires the kind of perspective, insight and commentary that is not easily found elsewhere in this time of big media consolidation.

    As we move toward this summer's political conventions and the general election in the fall, Current is making significant new additions to our broadcasts.   We have just debuted six hours of new programming each weekday with Bill Press ("Full Court Press, at 6 am ET/3 am PT) and Stephanie Miller ("Talking Liberally," at 9 am ET/6 pm PT).   

    We’re very excited to announce that beginning tonight, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will host “Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer,” at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.  Eliot is a veteran public servant and an astute observer of the issues of the day. He has important opinions and insights and he relishes the kind of constructive discourse that our viewers will appreciate this election year. 

    We are confident that our viewers will be able to count on Governor Spitzer to deliver critical information on a daily basis.


    All of these additions to Current's lineup are aimed at achieving one simple goal -- thegoal that has always been central to Current's mission:  To tell stories no one else will tell, to speak truth to power, and to influence the conversation of democracy on behalf of those whose voice is too seldom heard.  We, and everyone at Current, want to thank our viewers for their continued steadfast support.

    Sincerely,

    Al Gore & Joel Hyatt

    Current's Founders

    Are you a fan of the cable TV host? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

    More in The Clicker: