FILE – In this July 20, 2015 file photo, Garrison Keillor, creator and host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” appears during an interview in St. Paul, Minn. Keillor said Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behavior.
(Jim Mone, File/Associated Press)MINNEAPOLIS — Garrison Keillor, whose stories of small-town characters entertained legions of public radio listeners for 40 years on “A Prairie Home Companion,” became another celebrity felled by allegations of workplace misconduct when Minnesota Public Radio terminated his contracts.
The homegrown humorist told The Associated Press Wednesday he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.” Keillor didn’t detail the allegation to AP, but he later told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he had put his hand on a woman’s bare back when trying to console her.
“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. I apologized,” Keillor told the newspaper 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.”
MPR said only that it received allegations of “inappropriate behavior” against Keillor last month involving one person who worked with him during his time hosting “A Prairie Home Companion.
” Keillor retired as host of the radio variety show last year, but continued to work for MPR on various projects.MPR said it had received no other complaints but had retained an outside law firm that was continuing to investigate.
Later Wednesday, Keillor gave a statement to MPR News saying he had to “respect the privacy of the two employees who have made the allegations.” A spokeswoman for MPR’s corporate arm didn’t immediately respond to questions from AP on whether Keillor was accused of bad behavior with more than one person.
Keillor’s hand-picked successor to host the show, mandolinist Chris Thile, tweeted Wednesday he was “in shock”…
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