Infamous U.S. radio host Don Imus has reached a settlement with his former CBS bosses and is even rumoured to be headed back onto the airwaves soon.
The disgraced shock jock and CBS Radio have reached an agreement that will pre-empt the $120-million US breach of contract lawsuit that Imus had proposed, CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said Tuesday.
Radio personality Don Imus has settled with former boss CBS for an undisclosed amount. Rumours are swirling that the disgraced shock jock could be headed back to the airwaves.
(Richard Drew/Associated Press)
Both sides "have mutually agreed to settle claims that each had against the other regarding the Imus radio program on CBS," the network said in a statement Tuesday.
No terms of the settlement were revealed.
However, in recent days, media watchers have been buzzing about what they purport as a multimillion dollar settlement as well as a major comeback for the popular radio host.
An attorney for Imus told ABC News this week that the broadcast veteran is being courted by a number of major media outlets.
A source close to the CBS talks also told the Associated Press that Imus could return to his former employer.
Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin — a former boss of Imus — recently said in a Fox News interview that he'd be open to hiring Imus.
"The fact that he had been fired wouldn't stop me from having Don work for me again," Karmazin said. "He makes you a lot of money."
A number of controversial shock jock hosts, including edgy duo Opi and Anthony as well as Howard Stern, moved to satellite radio — which falls outside of the U.S. federal broadcast regulator's purview — after years of being criticized, chastized and fined for their on-air antics.
Meanwhile, U.S. civil rights advocate Rev. Al Sharpton, who was among those who led the call for Imus's dismissal, has said he would be keeping an eye out for the host wherever he may turn up.
In April, Imus was at the centre of a public and media storm after the 67-year-old tossed off a series of offhand comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, calling them "nappy-headed hos" during a sports update on his nationally syndicated CBS morning radio show.
His comments, which also aired on an MSNBC TV simulcast of the radio program, were immediately denounced as racist and sexist. The TV simulcast was dropped and Imus was first suspended, then fired within days.
Just a few months earlier, Imus had signed a five-year, $40 million US contract with CBS. After his dismissal, the host hired well-known First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus, who announced in May that Imus was planning to sue CBS for $120 million in unpaid salary and damages.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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