Garrison Keillor, the former host of A Prairie Home Companion, said Wednesday he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behaviour.
Keillor told The Associated Press of his firing in an email. In a followup statement, he said he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.” He didn’t give details of the allegation.
Keillor, 75, retired as host of his long-running public radio variety show in 2016. His hand-picked successor, mandolinist Chris Thile, is in his second season as Prairie Home host.
The allegations involve an individual who worked with Keillor while he was producing A Prairie Home Companion, Minnesota Public Radio said in a statement Wednesday.
After learning of the allegations last month, MPR said it hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation, which is ongoing.
The public broadcaster said it is ending its business relationship with Keillor effective immediately, including:
- Ending broadcast and distribution of The Writer’s Almanac and rebroadcasts of The Best of A Prairie Home Companion, hosted by Keillor.
- Dropping A Prairie Home Companion as the name of the music and variety show currently hosted by Thile.
- Cutting ties to the PrairieHome.org website.
“Garrison Keillor has been an important part of the growth and success of MPR, and all of us in the MPR community are saddened by these circumstances,” network president Jon McTaggart said in the statement.
“While we appreciate the contributions Garrison has made to MPR and to all of public radio, we believe this decision is the right thing to do and is necessary to continue to earn the trust of our audiences, employees and supporters of our public service.”
The news comes after Keillor, an avowed Democrat, wrote a syndicated column in the Washington Post that ridiculed the idea that Sen. Al Franken should resign over allegations of sexual harassment.
Keillor started his Saturday evening show featuring tales of his fictional Minnesota hometown of Lake Wobegon — “where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average” — in 1974.
The show, which also inspired a movie, featured musical acts, folksy humour, parody ads for fake products such as Powdermilk Biscuits and the centerpiece, Keillor delivering a seemingly off-the-cuff monologue, “The News From Lake Wobegon,” in his rich baritone voice.
Keillor appears with actors Meryl Streep and Lindsay Lohan in a scene from the movie inspired by A Prairie Home Companion. (Melinda Sue Gordon/Picturehouse/Associated Press)
Keillor bowed out with a final show at the Hollywood Bowl in July 2016 and turned the show over to Thile, a frequent Prairie Home guest musician.
Keillor went on a 28-city bus tour this summer, vowing it would be his last tour, but he continues on the road with solo shows. Keillor also is finishing a Lake Wobegon screenplay and a memoir about growing up in Minnesota.