Author and radio host Garrison Keillor was fired by Minnesota Public Radio after allegations of inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him, the news outlet said Wednesday.
MPR said it was notified last month of the allegations from his time producing “A Prairie Home Companion” and hired an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into the matter.
“Based on what we currently know, there are no similar allegations involved other staff,” MPR said in a statement. “The attorney leading the independent investigation has been conducting interviews and reviewing documents, and the investigation is still ongoing.”
MPR is ending all business relationships with Keillor “effective immediately.”
Keillor, 75, told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.”
In an email to the Star Tribune, Keillor said he put his hand on a woman’s bare back, but later apologized when she recoiled.
“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. 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,” he wrote.
Anyone who worked on Prairie Home Companion would describe Keillor as “the least physically affectionate person in the building,” he continued, before detailing how female fans had inappropriately touched him.
“If I had a dollar for every woman who asked to take a selfie with me and who slipped an arm around me and let it drift down below the beltline, I’d have at least a hundred dollars,” he said.
He also joked about the situation, saying it was an “honor” to be fired.
“Getting fired is a real distinction in broadcasting and I’ve waited fifty years for the honor. All of my heroes got fired. I only wish it could’ve been for something more heroic,” Keillor said.
On Tuesday, Keillor dismissed a photo of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., appearing to grope a female radio show host while she was sleeping.
