DeadlineHollywoodDaily’s Nikki Finke reports FOX has fired FoxNews.com entertainment writer, Roger Friedman.
A column by Friedman, which has since been removed, seemed to endorse watching pirated DVDs in the wake of the “Wolverine” leak this week.
According to Finke, Friedman wrote he had watched the upcoming movie by downloading it illegally, adding, “It’s so much easier than going out in the rain!”
Although Friedman told ABC News “there was no action taken against me,” Finke writes action was taken immediately — from the top:
I’m told that Fox News’ actions were swift and severe. First, Roger Ailes, who overseas Fox News, deleted the offending post after he was contacted by 20th Century Fox about it. And then Ailes fired Friedman as a freelance Fox News entertainment writer. I hear the move was done with the full support of News Corp. “He promoted piracy. He basically suggested that viewing a stolen film is OK, which is absolutely intolerable. So we fired him,” a source told me Saturday. “Fox News acted promptly on all fronts.”
• Update: The Huffington Post reports there is a meeting between FNC and Friedman tomorrow morning.
> Update at 6pmET on Monday: Well it’s official — as already reported, Friedman has been fired. Here’s FNC’s statement (via HuffPost):
Fox News representatives and Roger Friedman met today and mutually agreed to part ways immediately. Fox News appreciates Mr. Friedman’s ten years of contributions to building foxnews.com and wishes him success in his future endeavors. Mr. Friedman is grateful to his colleagues for their friendship and support over the past decade.