Steve Kmetko was one of the well-known broadcasters in the ’90s, and he recently opened up about disappearing from Hollywood after getting fired in 2002.
At the time, not many out gay men were working in the entertainment industry, therefore, he became a role model for a lot of people. In 2002, Kmetko was fired from E!, leaving viewers wondering why he suddenly disappeared.
More recently, he finally revealed what happened in an episode of his new podcast Still Here Hollywood. During contract negotiations back in 2002, Kmetko posted a message to the viewers on a website that was created for him by a supporter.
“And so when they were renegotiating my contract — and believe me, at the time, I told everybody I had the best job there was; I really loved that job — I put on there, ‘To the viewers out there, if you like my work and want to see me continue, I’d appreciate you writing to management and saying, ‘We like Steve,’” he recalled.
The management did not like what he did, and confronted him about it, asking if he posted the message using a company computer. The broadcaster claimed that he couldn’t remember whether he did or didn’t, so he told them no.
However, the IT department found out that he did post it using his work device, therefore committing a violation of “intellectual property”, and was ultimately fired from his job.
“They said they couldn’t have a newsman…lying like that,” Kmetko shared.
He also revealed that he apologized for his mistake, but nothing happened afterwards. The entertainment journalist even theorized that the network executives saw his mistake as an opportunity to dismiss him. According to him,
“They refused to let me say goodbye to the audience. I was asked to leave Hollywood 20 years ago. Let’s just say it wasn’t my choice.”
“One way or another, I felt like they were looking to get rid of me,” Kmetko further revealed.
You can watch the full episode of his podcast here:
Source: people.com
