SiriusXM Fires 'Opie & Anthony' Shock Jock Anthony Cumia
Longtime radio shock jock Anthony Cumia, of Opie & Anthony fame, is no stranger to controversy. So it wasn't really that surprising when he went on a racist Twitter rant on Tuesday, after Cumia was allegedly punched in the face by a black woman in New York City. In poor taste? Absolutely. But surprising? Not really.
But then, it's not exactly surprising that this rant has now cost him his job.
SiriusXM has decided to fire Cumia. The network released a statement confirming the firing:
SiriusXM has terminated its relationship with Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthonychannel. 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.
Cumia ripped SiriusXM for their decision by unleashing a rant on (where else?) Twitter.
"Sirius decided to cave and fire me. Welcome to bizarro world…" Cumia tweeted Friday morning. "After the weekend, I’ll have a better idea of things. F*** Sirius."
Of course, Cumia doesn't see anything wrong with his initial post.
"My posts on Twitter after I was assaulted were profanity laced indeed but racist? Nope. Why should I afford my attacker any courtesy. Insane,” Cumia wrote. This, of course, ignores that he called the woman a "pig" and a "savage violent animal," which is asking for trouble when you're a radio host. Hell, Don Imus got fired seven years ago for saying something only slightly less profane over the airwaves. So Cumia really should have seen this coming.
But then, the thing about being a "shock jock" is that you often don't have self-awareness of how badly things come across. Or, in Cumia's case, you just don't care how things you say come across. I can admire that kind of "give no damns" attitude, but I also sort of detest it as well. What do you think?
Via: New York Post
Credit: Cindy Ord for SiriusXM