Garrison Keillor axed by Vermont Book Festival as special guest

Garrison Keillor axed by Vermont Book Festival hours after organizer touted accused sexual harasser’s appearance and defended the radio host, declaring he ‘is not a sexual predator’

  • Garrison Keillor was set to attend a charity event at the Burlington Book Festival and agreed to pay his own way and perform for free
  • This was met with backlash, prompting organizer  Rick Kisonak to write an impassioned defense of Keillor, who lost his job over sexual misconduct claims
  • ‘It has come as a considerable shock that some have been so quick and careless in conflating his recent history with…  Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein,’ he said
  • ‘Garrison Keillor is not a sexual predator,’ declared Kisonak, leading to further backlash and the decision of a key sponsor to drop out of the festival
  • Keillor was then removed as a guest just hours after the post by Kisonalk over the 

The organizer of a Vermont book festival has cancelled a scheduled appearance by Garrison Keillor after sponsors and attendees threatened to boycott the event.

That decision was made less than 24 hours after Rick Kisonak hit back at those who objected to the public radio host’s attendance at the Burlington Book Festival in a lengthy post on Facebook.

‘The 2018 Festival had long since been planned and programmed when, earlier this month, Garrison Keillor agreed to travel to Burlington at his own expense and appear at no cost in a show he wanted to benefit the Festival,’ wrote Kisonak. 

‘Having admired his remarkable work for decades and closely followed events connected to him over the past year, I felt his generous offer afforded, among other things, the opportunity for a conversation that could not possibly be more important or timely.’

He then took things a step further and defended Keillor, writing: ‘It has come as a considerable shock that some have been so quick and careless in conflating his recent history with that of people like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. Garrison Keillor is not a sexual predator.’ 

Lake Wo-be gone: Garrison Keillor (above in file photo) was set to attend a charity event at the Burlington Book Festival and agreed to pay his own way and perform for free

It was revealed last December that an employee on Keillor’s public radio show had accused him of dozens of incidents of sexual misconduct.

These incidents  allegedly included requests for sexual contact, explicit sexual communications and inappropriate touching.

Keillor denied the allegations and said in a statement that he had been fired without a proper investigation. 

Minnesota Public Radio also ended broadcasts of The Writer’s Almanac, Keillor’s daily reading of literary events and a poem, and ended rebroadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion.

Keillor, 75, retired in 2016 as host of Prairie Home the show he created in 1974 that would later go on to be adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, in what was director Robert Altman’s final picture before his death.

These allegations were the reason for the swift backlash in the wake of Kisonak’s post.

‘What an incredibly tone deaf response to legitimate concerns,’ wrote Daniel Barlow. 

‘Wake up and stop defending the indefensible!’ said a woman named Sara on Facebook.

When Burlington City Arts announced it wanted its logo removed, things took a sudden turn.

There is no word on who might replace Keillor. 

 

 

 

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