Garrison Keillor Fired Over Alleged Improper Behavior

Garrison Keillor, the former host of A Prairie Home Companion, says he’s been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior.

Keillor told the Associated Press of his firing in an email. In a follow-up statement, he said he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.”

MPR said the allegation involved one person who worked with Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion before he left the show in 2016.

In a later statement to MPR News, Keillor wrote that he has to respect the privacy “of the two employees who made the allegations.” Minnesota Public Radio didn’t immediately respond to messages or clarify whether the accusation involved one person or two.

A concert featuring Keillor was cancelled in Massachusetts in the wake of the allegations. Keillor was slated to appear in Pittsfield with the folk duo Robin and Linda Williams, regular guests on Keillor’s radio show A Prairie Home Companion, on Wednesday night.

The Berkshire Theatre Group posted on its website later Wednesday that the show had been canceled. WAMC Northeast Public Radio had pulled out as a sponsor.

Minnesota Public Radio confirmed earlier Wednesday it terminated contracts with Keillor over a single allegation reported last month.

Keillor says the incident involved putting his hand on a woman’s bare back while trying to console her. Keillor says the woman recoiled, he apologized and she later told him she forgave him.

Keillor retired last year from his longtime radio show, but still produced The Writer’s Almanac for syndication.