Olbermann sues Current TV for $50M, cites glitches

(AP) Olbermann sues Current TV for $50M, cites glitches

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES

Keith Olbermann is moving his grievances with his former bosses at Current TV from the airwaves to the courtroom, suing the network for more than $50 million and blasting it for what he claims were shoddy production values.

Olbermann’s breach-of-contract lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Thursday also seeks a judge’s ruling that he didn’t disparage the network before his firing, and that his former bosses violated his agreement by disclosing how much he was being paid.

The suit makes several attacks on Current co-founder Joel Hyatt and network President David Borman, claiming they were responsible for many of his show’s problems.

A spokeswoman for the network, which was also co-founded by Vice President Al Gore, said it does not have an immediate comment on Olbermann’s lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes less than a week after Olbermann was fired from “Countdown” and two days after he attacked his former employers on David Letterman’s late-night talk show.

The complaint describes a litany of technical issues, including shoddy equipment that wouldn’t work if it rained, “terrible sound and filming” of the show, guests who were abruptly dropped from the air, busted teleprompters and an earpiece that malfunctioned.

The talk show host claims he may be owed in excess of $70 million, and that the mismanagement at Current has damaged its value. He has an ownership stake in the network, according to the case.

Olbermann was fired March 30 and replaced with a new program hosted by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. In a statement, Gore and Hyatt said their relationship with Olbermann no longer reflected respect and other values.

In his lawsuit, Olbermann accused Hyatt of acting erratically in his leadership at the network. He claims Hyatt threated to fire him and his staff days before the show premiered.

The at-times volatile host came to Current last June after a stormy eight-year stint at MSNBC, his second at that network, and an abrupt departure in January 2011.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP.