Gregg “Opie” Hughes returned to broadcast on SiriusXM on Monday for the first time since his long-time partner, Anthony Cumia, was fired, and stated he thinks his employer made the wrong decision.
“I absolutely do not believe that Anthony should have been fired,” Hughes said. “As harsh as the tweets were, as much as I had a gut feeling that this should’ve gone down. They should’ve rode it out.”
Also read: ‘Opie and Anthony’ Host Lashes Out With Racist Tweets After Alleged Times Square Assault
Cumia, one half of the radio duo formerly known as “Opie and Anthony,” was terminated for racist remarks he made on Twitter while lashing out about an alleged assault he suffered in Times Square when a black woman punched him in the face.
“If they had let us back on the air, we would’ve figured our way out of this one,” Hughes said. “The jokes would’ve been there. To see all of those tweets without any jokes made it a lot harsher.”
Also read: Angry Anthony Cumia Fans Cancel SiriusXM Subscriptions After Firing Over Racist Tweets
Comedian Jim Norton, a regular fixture on the radio talk show, empathized with Cumia by noting he was “pissed off” after being attacked, “and when you’re pissed off you say horrible awful things.”
Hughes said he’s not sure of their future with the subscription radio service and a channel now called “SiriusXM Talk,” but emphasized that their contracts play a big role.
See video: Anthony Cumia on Sirius XM ‘Hypocritical’ Firing: ‘I Wasn’t Being Racist’
“I don’t think people understand fully what being under contract means and what breach of contract means,” Hughes said. “We can’t just walk away. Breach of contract is a real issue…We could be sued for millions…It would be a big f–ing problem.”