Anthony Cumia, the former co-host of SiriusXM’s controversial “Opie and Anthony” radio show has been fired after posting a handful of racist comments on Twitter this week.
TheWrap has spoken to Senior Vice President of SiriusXM, Patrick Reilly, about the incident. “SiriusXM has terminated its relationship with Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthony channel,” he told the site. When asked to confirm the reason for Cumia’s firing, he responded, ”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.”
Cumia reportedly tweeted a series of violent and racially charged updates after he was allegedly assaulted by an African American woman while taking pictures in Times Square. Cumia apparently referred to the woman as “it” and claimed that racial difference is a “battle” that “we are losing.” While Cumia has since deleted most of his controversial tweets, Entertainment Weekly compiled a list prior to their removal.
“It’s really open season on white people in this day and age. No recourse. Fight back and you’re a racist. The predators know this. Good luck,” read one of the updates from July 2.
Many offended listeners have apparently cancelled their XM subscriptions after learning of what happened. Reilly has since expressed SiriusXM’s regret over Cumio’s remarks and stressed that the incident does not reflect the company’s values. “Those remarks and postings are abhorrent to SiriusXM, and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents.”