Anthony Cumia, half of the duo behind the Opie & Anthony radio show, was fired this weekend after making “racially-charged” statements on Twitter.
SiriusXM said in a statement: “SiriusXM has terminated its relationship with Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthony channel. The decision was made, and Cumia informed, late Thursday, July 3 after careful consideration of his racially-charged and hate-filled remarks on social media. Those remarks and postings are abhorrent to SiriusXM, and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents.”
The tweets have been deleted but Gawker reports that the statements were made after Cumia had a run in with a fan. Cumia claims that he was punched by a woman after they had an argument over a photograph. Cumia called the woman, who was black, a “c*ntrag” and a “savage.” He also said that “they aren’t people” and that it was “open season on white people in this day and age.”
SiriusXM wasn’t happy with Anthony’s “hate-filled remarks” but it doesn’t look like it bothered any of his fans. A petition was started on Change.org to get SiriusXM to reinstate Cumia.
Really appreciate all the support. Best fans ever. Keep giving them hell. I’ll be doing a Compound show asap to lay out the future. Thanks!
— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 7, 2014
Close to 15,000 people have signed the petition, which reads: “Anthony Cumia should not have lost his job as a radio personality for remarks, electronic or otherwise, that he made in his personal life, on his personal Twitter account. If SiriusXM had taken offense to remarks he had made on the air, or on a company social media account, that’s their right, but the remarks that led to Mr. Cumia being terminated were a series of tweets accredited to Mr. Cumia’s personal Twitter account. Americans should be allowed to lead their personal lives how they see fit, without having to worry about repercussions from their employer. Mr. Cumia is afforded the same freedom of speech as every other American, even if you find his views disgusting or in bad taste.”
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Opie & Anthony fans are standing beside Cumia. After all, this is hardly the first time that the two shock jocks have done something, well, shocking.
Rolling Stone reports that the duo were fired from a Boston radio station in 1998 after they claimed that the mayor had been killed in a traffic accident. Oh, there was also the time they smashed a homeless guy’s cake just so they could laugh at him.
The fact is that Opie & Anthony make a living by being jerks. That’s why some people love them and some people hate them. The question now is whether or not SiriusXM will cave to the pressure and reinstate Anthony Cumia.
[Image Via Twitter]
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