You may remember a few weeks back that video leaked of Lawrence O'Donnell yelling at his production staff. It was funny. We all had a good laugh. Video editing genius David Rutz made it even funnier and provided even better laughs:
Well, today Page Six reported that the guy who leaked the video has been fired:
NBC has tracked down and fired the staffer who leaked the infamous—and wildly entertaining—tape of Lawrence O’Donnell’s meltdown during which he swore at his crew because of "insanity in my earpiece."
Multiple sources said that a male "Today" show editor was found to be the culprit who compiled and leaked the eight-minute video of O’Donnell raging at staff during breaks in an Aug. 29 live broadcast of his show "The Last Word."
You know what? Good for NBC.
First off, O'Donnell was totally right to be upset about having an unceasing cacophony of hammering and jabbering going on in his headset while he's trying to do a live TV show. Have you ever done live TV? It's hard! You have to have the utmost focus to make sure you don't do something disastrously stupid, something that will, I dunno, wind up being mocked on websites around the world for years, perhaps decades, on end.
So the fact that O'Donnell was upset was entirely understandable, and it's probably not fair to make fun of him for being so pissy at the crew (not that fairness would ever stop us from scoring a cheap laugh). What's NOT understandable is some dirtbag employee taking the footage of him being upset, mixing together a greatest-hits montage, and leaking it to an enemy publication. That's the lowest form of sneaky bullshit, a gutless, simpering way to handle whatever disagreements you may have had with the talent you and your colleagues so woefully failed.
NBC did the right thing firing this guy. And everyone out there looking for a video editor should keep this traitorous dickbag's actions in mind if they happen to get a resume from someone whose last employer was NBC but is oddly light on references from the Peacock.