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Keith Olbermann attempted to retract a thinly veiled threat he made against CNN’s conservative commentator, Scott Jennings, following a heated interaction on social media.
The former MSNBC and ESPN personality had initially responded to a post by Jennings about Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC with a message saying, “You’re next mother******. But keep mugging to the camera, amateur.”
After receiving backlash, including Jennings tagging FBI Director Kash Patel, Olbermann adopted a more apologetic stance towards CNN’s so-called “black sheep” on Tuesday.
‘I apologize without reservation to [Scott Jennings]. Yesterday I wrote and immediately deleted 2 responses to him about Kimmel because they could be misinterpreted as a threat to anything besides his career. I immediately replaced them with ones specifying what I actually meant,’ he said on X.
‘I oppose and condemn political violence, and the threat of it. All times are the wrong time to leave even an inadvertent impression of it — but this time is especially wrong. I should’ve acknowledged the deletion and apologized yesterday. I’m sorry I delayed.’
He did indeed delete the offending posts with clarifications.
Jennings, often the lone man defending conservative principles on liberal CNN, made fun of the incident by marking himself safe from Olbermann on his radio show Tuesday.
‘I am live on the Salem Radio Network, marking myself safe from that nut Keith Olbermann, whom you might have noticed threatened yours truly on the internet yesterday.’
Keith Olbermann tried to take back his thinly veiled threat against CNN conservative commentator Scott Jennings during a volatile exchange on social media
Jennings, often the lone man defending conservative principles on liberal CNN, made fun of the incident by marking himself safe from Olbermann on his radio show Tuesday
Jennings called Olbermann ‘the poster boy for left-wing outrage, the poster boy for complete broken brain progressivism.’
Jennings posted his own thoughts on ABC’s decision to reinstate Kimmel following the late-night host’s monologue about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
‘So basically his employer suspended him for being an insensitive p****, and we don’t live in an authoritarian regime? Got it,’ Jennings wrote.
But in a now-deleted post to X, Olbermann responded directly to Jennings with the chilling message: ‘You’re next mother******.’
Townhall columnist Dustin Grage shared a screenshot of the deleted post, which Jennings then retweeted, tagging FBI Director Kash Patel in the process and further escalating the situation.
According to multiple screenshots, Olbermann followed up the original post with a second jab, writing: ‘But keep mugging to camera, amateur.’
The unhinged tirade appeared in a thread reacting to ABC’s announcement that Kimmel would be back onair on Tuesday night, without an apology for his controversial comments in which he suggested Kirk’s murder was being politically exploited by conservatives.
In a third exchange, Olbermann wrote: ‘Now we get the fascists off real tv. That’d mean your career is next, Jennings. Send a tape to Real America’s Voice But keep mugging to camera, amateur.’
The posts came just days after Olbermann responded to news that Sinclair Broadcast Group, a major ABC affiliate owner, would be pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its schedule in protest of Kimmel’s comments.
Olbermann, the former host of ESPN’s SportsCenter, lambasted the broadcast group Sinclair for its assertion that Kimmel’s removal from the airwaves was ‘not enough’ and that ‘additional action’ should be taken.
‘Burn in hell, Sinclair,’ he wrote. ‘Alongside Charlie Kirk.’
The vile post was condemned across the political spectrum as a dehumanizing attack on Kirk and his family.
Olbermann later deleted the post but not before it was widely screenshotted and circulated by conservative outlets and watchdogs.
Once a prominent host on MSNBC and ESPN, Olbermann has become increasingly known for his provocative and often extreme social media posts.
Last week, he defended Kimmel’s suspended monologue, writing: ‘Nothing Jimmy Kimmel said was untrue.’
But critics argue that Olbermann’s escalating rhetoric has moved beyond political commentary and into dangerous territory, especially in a moment of heightened political tensions and media scrutiny.
On Monday ABC confirmed Jimmy Kimmel would be back on air on Tuesday night.
Kimmel reportedly negotiated his return with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden.
He is expected to address the controversy on his show but but it remains to be seen whether he will make a full apology.
That decision has infuriated affiliate owners like Sinclair, who said they will continue preempting the show on their ABC stations, replacing it with news programming.
