‘Opie And Anthony’s’ Anthony Cumia Fired After Offensive Twitter Post

Opie and Anthony, thanks to some hateful Twitter posts, is no more.

Sirius XM Radio has decided to fire the “‘Anthony” part of “Opie And Anthony,” Anthony Cumia, after posts Cumia placed on his Twitter account. Many folks, Sirius XM included, found those posts highly offensive.

“SiriusXM has terminated its relationship with Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthony channel. The decision was made, and Cumia informed, late Thursday, July 3 after careful consideration of his racially-charged and hate-filled remarks on social media. Those remarks and postings are abhorrent to SiriusXM, and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents,” the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported.

Anthony’s rant was posted after a picture-taking incident. Anthony was taking a picture when a black woman came into a frame of the image Anthony was trying to take. In his Twitter post, Anthony wrote, “This was an animal, I shoulda smashed it’s face.”

Anthony also added: “She’s lucky I was a white legal gun owner or she’d be dead. Then 5 blacks started giving me (expletive)!! It’s really open season on white people in this day and age,” Anthony wrote. “No recourse. Fight back and you’re a racist.” Cumia said he defended himself without hitting back. Anthony has also deleted the offending posts from his Twitter page.

Soon after Cumia’s removal from Sirius XM, fans began an online petition. 9,000 signees have asked Sirius XM to reinstate Cumia, or they will begin a boycott of the satellite radio service, reports Rolling Stone Magazine. “We are hereby pledging to boycott your service until you reinstate Anthony Cumia,” the petition says. “A member of your staff should not lose their job for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. You should be ashamed of your actions.”

This isn’t the first time the duo of Opie and Anthony have been in trouble. In 1998, the pair created an elaborate April’s Fool Day hoax claiming the then-mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, had been killed in a car accident. In 2002, an on-the-air contest led to a couple calling in stating they were having sex in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the duo’s show was cancelled.

For Anthony’s part, he posted another rant on Twitter about Sirius XM’s actions.”Sirius decided to cave and fire me. Welcome to bizarro world. Fired for s**t that wasn’t even on the air & wasn’t illegal. So, who’s next?”

Anthony has removed that post from his Twitter account, as well.