Writer and former “A Prairie Home Companion” host Garrison Keillor has been removed from his regular column in The Washington Post, according to a statement from the newspaper.
The newspaper’s editorial page editor, Fred Hiatt, said in a statement Thursday that Keillor’s firing was due to the columnist penning an article about sexual misconduct allegations facing multiple high-profile men in media without disclosing his own misconduct allegations.
“Knowing he (Keillor) was under investigation for his workplace behavior, he should not have written a column on that subject; or, if he was going to write, he should have told his editors and readers that he was under investigation,” Hiatt said.
“Readers are entitled to a basic level of transparency from the columnists they read in The Washington Post. Garrison Keillor failed to meet that standard this week,” he added.
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The move comes a day after Keillor was fired from his position at Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), where he hosted the popular variety show “A Prairie Home Companion.” A statement from MPR said that the firing was due to allegations of sexual misconduct against Keillor from a co-worker.
“Last month, MPR was notified of the allegations which relate to Mr. Keillor’s conduct while he was responsible for the production of A Prairie Home Companion,” the statement reads.
“Based on what we currently know, there are no similar allegations involving other staff,” MPR said. “The attorney leading the independent investigation has been conducting interviews and reviewing documents, and the investigation is still ongoing.”
Keillor himself addressed his firing and the allegations against him in a statement Wednesday.
“I put my hand on a woman’s bare back. I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled,” Keillor told The Minneapolis Star Tribune in an email.
“I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called,” he added.