2014 news: Radio host fired over tweets

Saturday 5 July 2014

Radio host fired over tweets

Anthony Cumia, the "Anthony" portion of the shock-jock radio team, was fired by employer Sirius XM.

"Opie & Anthony's" Anthony Cumia made racially charged tweets

Cumia took photo of African-American woman, claimed he was assaulted

"Behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents," says rep

Joan Rivers' sense of humor likely doesn't go over well at the White House. The comedian and TV personality joked in July that America has its first gay POTUS in President Barack Obama, and went on to say that the first lady, Michelle Obama, is transgender. When reached for comment on her words, Rivers said, "I think it's a compliment."

"Opie and Anthony" radio host Anthony Cumia found himself fired by his program's carrier, SiriusXM, because of a series of inflammatory tweets he posted in early July. Cumia says that his profane and racially insensitive Twitter rant was caused by an attack on him by an African-American woman, who, according to Cumia, was upset because he was taking photos of her. After the alleged assault, Cumia turned to Twitter to air his grievances, calling her a "lucky savage" and a "lying c***," among other defamatory phrases.

Tom Cruise -- aka the man still trying to live down the infamy of calling Matt Lauer "glib" during a tense 2005 interview -- has claimed that he invented the global movie press tour. On Jimmy Kimmel's talk show, Cruise said that around the time of 1986's "Top Gun," "I came up with the idea of, let's have premieres in different countries and do it that way." When Kimmel responded with a surprised, "You started that?" Cruise affirmed, "Yeah, I came up with that. It took me a few years to get it going."

Gwyneth Paltrow is known for having alternative views, but her latest observation has raised more eyebrows than usual. In a post on her website GOOP, Paltrow said she's "fascinated" by a study on how "negativity changes the structure of water, and how the molecules behave differently depending on the words or music being expressed around it." So does that mean Paltrow believes water has feelings? Some think so.

Justin Bieber, now 20, is taking responsibility for using racial slurs as a teen. In two videos that surfaced in June, a younger Bieber can be seen using the "N" word on two separate occasions -- instances that he says were the result of his own ignorance. "As a young man, I didn't understand the power of certain words and how they can hurt. I thought it was OK to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny," the star said in a statement.

Jonah Hill has also owned up to yelling a homophobic slur at a paparazzo, which was seen on a video released by TMZ on Tuesday, June 3. The actor said to the photographer, "Suck my d***, you f*****." He later told radio host Howard Stern that he was frustrated by his own words: "From the day I was born and publicly I've been a gay rights activist. ... I played into exactly what (the paparazzo) wanted and lost my cool. And in that moment, I said a disgusting word that does not at all reflect how I feel about any group of people."

Actor James Franco criticized The New York Times' theater critic, Ben Brantley, over a lukewarm review of the Broadway revival "Of Mice and Men." "Brantley is such a little b****," the actor said in an April Instagram takedown that he later removed -- but not before it was screengrabbed for posterity.

Reese Witherspoon might seem prim on the red carpet, but the actress has been caught making more than one slip of the tongue. When the actress was arrested in April 2013 after having "one drink too many," she chastised the arresting officer for not recognizing he was arresting a celebrity. "Do you know my name?" she asked. When the officer replied that he didn't, Witherspoon shot back, "You're about to find out who I am."

And then there was the time Witherspoon was caught giving advice to Cara Delevingne, Kate Upton and Zooey Deschanel, reportedly after the 2014 Met Gala. The Southern actress was taped saying, "The most important thing in a name for a girl is that a man can whisper it in his pillow."

Charles Barkley, while covering a basketball game for TNT, got caught on a hot mic while saying that his Weight Watchers endorsement deal was a "scam." The company saw the humor in it and released a statement saying: "We love Charles for the same reason everyone loves Charles. He's unfiltered."

Adam Levine learned the hard way that you have to watch it before you speak. "The Voice" judge found himself facing some serious backlash in May 2013 after his disappointment over voting results led to him uttering, "I hate this country." He released a statement trying to clarify what he meant, saying that he was frustrated.

Madonna was on her best behavior at the "W.E." news conference, seen here during the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. But at the Venice Film Festival that same year, she was caught saying "I absolutely loathe hydrangeas" after a fan gave her the flowers.

Almost everything that Kanye West says can be met with a debate, and that includes his comment in November about his use of the Confederate flag on some of his new merchandise. The rapper told Los Angeles radio station 97.1 AMP that observers can "react how you want. Any energy is good energy. You know the Confederate flag represented slavery in a way -- that's my abstract take on what I know about it. So I made the song 'New Slaves.' So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It's my flag. Now what are you going to do?"

Like Kanye West, Alec Baldwin's commentary is a magnet for controversy. From once calling his daughter a "rude, thoughtless little pig" to using anti-gay slurs, it's no wonder that the actor is trying to keep quiet these days. There are times when he can't help himself, though, and his May arrest for riding his bike the wrong way was one of them. "New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity," Baldwin tweeted upon his release.

Politicians have to deal with this type of thing all of the time, and U.S. President Barack Obama is no exception. After Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards in 2009, the commander-in-chief called the rapper a "jackass" while waiting for an interview to start. West was reportedly not amused.

In January 2013, director Quentin Tarantino was doing press for his film "Django Unchained" when Britain's Channel 4 reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked him whether he thinks movie violence can lead to actual violence. Tarantino shot back, saying: "You can't make me dance to your tune. I'm not a monkey," and "I'm shutting your butt down!"

When you're as famous as Britney Spears, it pays to first ask for someone to repeat the question. When she was asked for her thoughts on the passing of fellow former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello, the star accidentally responded, "I think that's great."

Mel Gibson's mouth has been a famous source of trouble for the movie star, and in 2010 it happened again. The actor was being interviewed about his film "Edge of Darkness" by WGN reporter Dean Richards when Gibson was asked about various scandals, including an anti-Semitic rant. "That's almost four years ago, dude," Gibson said. "I've moved on. I guess you haven't." The actor could be heard calling Richards an a**hole at the end.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson is not Laurence Fishburne, and he's been very clear about that. In February, Jackson scolded KTLA's Sam Rubin for misidentifying him. "You're as crazy as the people on Twitter," Jackson said during a live TV interview. "We may be all black and famous, but we all don't look alike. You're busted."

In March, late-night host Chelsea Handler challenged CNN's Piers Morgan, calling him unfocused. "You can't even pay attention for 60 seconds," she said. "You're a terrible interviewer."

Mouthing off: Celebs said what?!

Mouthing off: Did they really say that?!

Photos: Celebs said what?!

(CNN) -- "Opie & Anthony" has been cut in half.

Anthony Cumia, the "Anthony" portion of the shock-jock radio team, was fired by employer Sirius XM after Cumia made a series of racially charged tweets Wednesday night.

"SiriusXM has terminated its relationship with Anthony Cumia of the 'Opie & Anthony' channel," Patrick Reilly, the satellite radio broadcaster's media relations manager, said in a statement.

"The decision was made, and Cumia informed, late Thursday, July 3, after careful consideration of his racially-charged and hate-filled remarks on social media. Those remarks and postings are abhorrent to SiriusXM, and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents."

According to Cumia, on Wednesday night he was taking pictures in Times Square when an African-American woman objected to being photographed. Cumia claims he was assaulted by the woman.

He let loose with a series of tweets, many with profane and inflammatory language. One called the woman an "animal pig face worthless meat sack" and worse.

He did not report the alleged assault to the police. When asked why by one person on Twitter, he responded, "Because I can take some punches w/out wasting the cops time."

RT @aefing: @MBHockey77 WHERE is the police report then? You screwed up. -Because I can take some punches w/out wasting the cops time.

— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 3, 2014

Cumia appeared to be caught by surprise by the firing.

"Sirius decided to cave and fire me. Welcome to bizarro world. Fired for s**t that wasn't even on the air & wasn't illegal. So, who's next?" he tweeted Friday morning.

Sirius decided to cave and fire me. Welcome to bizarro world. Fired for shit that wasn't even on the air & wasn't illegal. So, who's next?

— Anthony Cumia (@Anthony Cumia) July 4, 2014

It's not the first time the duo has been in trouble. In 2003, a stunt called "Sex for Sam," which involved people having sex in public places in exchange for prizes, got the pair canceled from New York's WNEW.

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CNN's Elizabeth Landers contributed to this story.