Minnesota Public Radio fired writer and longtime A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor on Wednesday following allegations of inappropriate behavior, The Associated Press reports. In a statement, Keillor said he was fired over "a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard." Details of the allegations have not yet been made public.
Keillor retired from Prairie Home Companion in 2016, but still produced The Writer's Almanac and wrote for various national publications. On Tuesday, Keillor published an opinion piece in The Washington Post defending Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who is accused of groping radio host Leeann Tweeden during a 2006 USO tour.
"On the flight home, in a spirit of low comedy, Al ogled Miss Tweeden and pretended to grab her and a picture was taken. Eleven years later, a talk show host in LA, she goes public, and there is talk of resignation," Keillor wrote. "This is pure absurdity, and the atrocity it leads to is a code of public deadliness."
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