TV Reporter in Denial About Being Fired For Saying the F-Word Too Much Speaks Out
On April 30, we brought you the story of Dan Phillips, a man who was reportedly fired for his Prince-themed sportscast following the music legend’s death. That seemed super harsh, especially when compared to the positive reception most local newscasters receive for pulling similar — if not identical — stunts.
Since the original video seems to have been scrubbed from the Internet, check out this YouTube version:
Seems innocuous, right? That’s what Phillips thinks, too. Recall that we told you he wrote a Facebook status that said, in part, “Unfortunately, there were apparently some viewers, as well as management at the station, who did not feel the same way. They felt I was insensitive. And as a result, I was terminated today.”
New reports last week indicated that he might not have been fired for the Prince-cast at all. In fact, the rumor is that he dropped the F-bomb so many times on a Facebook Live broadcast that there was no choice but for his station, WZTV Nashville, to cut him loose. It isn’t like this exact same scenario hasn’t happened before.
FTV Live reported that sources told them that Phillips’ coworker, Meagan O’Halloran, was doing a live stream of herself walking around and getting WZTV employees to pull questions from a fishbowl. The point was to let viewers at home get to know the employees’ personalities. Phillips gave them especially keen insight into his personality when he allegedly said to O’Halloran, “You better not come into my fucking office!” When she came in with her fishbowl, he said the word a few more times.
He told FTV Live that he remembered not wanting her in his office but did not remember swearing at her. He also insisted that in the three meetings with management before he was fired, no one mentioned his cursing. Instead, he said, the only issue that was brought up was his tribute forecast.
What do you think?
[image via screengrab]
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