Keith Olbermann’s unexpected departure couldn’t have come at an anymore awkward time for the news cycle – late on a Friday evening, a time where news goes to die.
However, Olbermann’s now-former MSNBC colleague was available for an instant reaction. Maddow appeared on Friday’s edition of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and offered viewers what she knew about the situation.
“Yeah, it has been a big day at MSNBC,” Maddow said. “At least it’s been a big 15 minutes. Keith announced at the end of his show tonight that he and the company made a mutual decision that ‘Countdown’ is done.”
Host Bill Maher wasn’t buying it.
“That’s always bullshit,” Maher replied.
Maddow added his departure passed with little fireworks.
“I know very little about it,” Maddow continued. “All I know is it was between Keith and the company. It didn’t involve any of the rest of us and he was really gracious and nice when he left.”
But the beginning of the end came when he stopped doing his “Worst Persons in the World” segment, Maher pointed out. The segment in the last few months of his show had an on-again, off-again pattern.
“Once he started backing off ‘Worst Persons in the World,’ it really is all downhill,” Maher added. “It came back with a parenthesis like you don’t really mean it. Stop organizing life around the people who don’t get the joke. Fuck them if they don’t get a joke. I always enjoyed his show. I hope he comes back.”
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The new line-up will include Lawrence O’Donnell’s “The Last Word,” moving to 8 p.m. and Ed Schultz’s “The Ed Show” moving to 10 p.m. Maddow’s program will remain in its 9 p.m. time slot.