Opinionated political broadcaster, and former Current TV employee Keith Olbermann settled a $50 million lawsuit out of court on Tuesday, the Huffington Post reported.
Olbermann sued Current TV after the network fired him one year ago. Current TV counter-sued, in kind, indicating the anchor's lawsuit was "riddled with falsehoods."
Current TV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt announced the firing in an open letter to viewers posted at the network's website.
"Current was founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers," it read. "Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it."
Olbermann accused the network of denying him editorial control of his show, the New York Daily News reported, and Current TV countered that Olbermann failed to show up for work several times.
The anchor's reputation, which also suffered from being ousted from MSNBC a year earlier on bad terms, has left him badly bruised as he seeks new work. He created a following by liberals, particularly those who rallied against George W. Bush during his presidency. Olbermann has reportedly been eying a return to ESPN, where he worked from 1992 to 1997, CNN reported.
While settlement specifics were not disclosed, a source said that Olbermann will receive "a significant payout from Current TV." Gore recently sold the network to Al Jazeera for a reported $500 million, with plans to use the channel to launch Al Jazeera America. It plans to launch the network by this summer.
After the sale, Gore was hit by another lawsuit; this one by an LA television consultant who claimed the network stole his idea to sell Current TV to Al Jazeera. John Terenzio demanded more than $5 million in a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court. Terenzio reportedly suggested the plan to people at the network, who rejected it. By the time, Current TV ultimately accepted the sale, he was kept completely in the dark.
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