NEW YORK - Disgraced radio host Don Imus will sue CBS Radio for the huge portion of his $40 million contract that was left unpaid after he was fired for racist and sexist comments, his attorney said Thursday.
Martin Garbus, a First Amendment attorney, said he plans to file the breach of contract lawsuit by the end of next week.
Imus, 66, was barely three months into the five-year deal with CBS when he was dismissed April 12 after describing the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos" on his nationally syndicated radio program.
Garbus cited a contract clause in which CBS acknowledged that Imus' services were "unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial." The clause said Imus' programming was "desired by company and ... consistent with company rules and policy," according to Garbus.
CBS Radio, in a statement issued Thursday, said it would vigorously contest Imus' claim.
"We terminated Mr. Imus for cause," the statement said. "Based on the comments in question and relevant contract terms, we believe that the termination was appropriate and CBS would expect to prevail in any attempt by Mr. Imus to recover money for his actions."
If Imus wins it will effectively kill other hosts' chances of making a career as a shock jock. Basically any prospective employer is going to have to think really long and hard about hiring a guy they may have to fire for his behavior, and then still pay him his contract after they fire him.
Personally, I have zero sympathy for CBS and I hope they have to pay up. They knew exactly what they were getting into when they hired Imus in the first place, and for certain they knew who/what he was when they offered him that contract in April. You mess with the bull, you get the horns, plain and simple.
knapplc wrote:Personally, I have zero sympathy for CBS and I hope they have to pay up. They knew exactly what they were getting into when they hired Imus in the first place, and for certain they knew who/what he was when they offered him that contract in April. You mess with the bull, you get the horns, plain and simple.
On the other hand though, Imus knew darn well that he was walking a very fine line, and had been for years. I'm sure he considered the possibility that someday something that he or his crew might say could get him fired.
I really don't care who prevails in this. Billion dollar company vs. million dollar a-hole. We all lose because this story stays in the news.
I hope he wins because I think it was a joke he got fired. Not that I'm a fan at all, but what he said wasn't grounds for firing. Fire him for not being funny, fine, but not for the comment.
Big Pimpin wrote:I hope he wins because I think it was a joke he got fired. Not that I'm a fan at all, but what he said wasn't grounds for firing. Fire him for not being funny, fine, but not for the comment.
Big Pimpin wrote:I hope he wins because I think it was a joke he got fired. Not that I'm a fan at all, but what he said wasn't grounds for firing. Fire him for not being funny, fine, but not for the comment.
He wasn't fired for what he said, if that were the case he would have been fired the day he said it (or soon thereafter). He was fired because sponsors pulled out of the show, which--fair or not--is grounds for firing.
Big Pimpin wrote:I hope he wins because I think it was a joke he got fired. Not that I'm a fan at all, but what he said wasn't grounds for firing. Fire him for not being funny, fine, but not for the comment.
I'm pretty sure he was fired because of the big time advertisers abandoning ship and costing NBC/CBS a ton of money. I suppose it all boils down to the comments he made.
I was never a really big fan of his, but I do like the fact that he wasn't always politically correct. We need more of that.
Big Pimpin wrote:I hope he wins because I think it was a joke he got fired. Not that I'm a fan at all, but what he said wasn't grounds for firing. Fire him for not being funny, fine, but not for the comment.
He wasn't fired for what he said, if that were the case he would have been fired the day he said it (or soon thereafter). He was fired because sponsors pulled out of the show, which--fair or not--is grounds for firing.
Well then I think it's a joke that stupid sponsors bowed to the stupid public pressure they got from idiots who make a big deal about stupid stuff.
Big Pimpin wrote:I hope he wins because I think it was a joke he got fired. Not that I'm a fan at all, but what he said wasn't grounds for firing. Fire him for not being funny, fine, but not for the comment.
He wasn't fired for what he said, if that were the case he would have been fired the day he said it (or soon thereafter). He was fired because sponsors pulled out of the show, which--fair or not--is grounds for firing.
Well then I think it's a joke that stupid sponsors bowed to the stupid public pressure they got from idiots who make a big deal about stupid stuff.
Garbus cited a contract clause in which CBS acknowledged that Imus' services were "unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial." The clause said Imus' programming was "desired by company and ... consistent with company rules and policy," according to Garbus.
As far as I can tell, the network explicitly acknowledged in the contract that they were on the hook for the risk given that Imus' comments (and therefore subsequent sponsor decisions based on such comments) were well within the boundaries of the contract. CBS accepted the risk and now they should have to eat it.
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by knapplc » Thu May 03, 2007 5:38 pm 
