About Jamie’s departure from Citizen Radio: Recently, some disturbing allegations have been brought to my attention entailing several women who have accused Jamie of being manipulative, emotionally abusive, and predatory in his behavior. There had been murmurs of this in the past, but understandably, the women wished to remain anonymous, so I was never able to learn the full scope of what happened until very recently (a couple days ago). I want to be careful with what I say here because I don’t want to reveal anyone’s identity until they’re ready to speak publicly, but one of the victims was someone who worked for the show. Now that I have the full story, I am deeply upset and disturbed by what I’ve learned. This is why I asked Jamie to leave the show (he agreed) and why he’s agreed to seek therapy. I also wanted him to publicly post about what he’s done and apologize, but he declined to do that. I also wanted to be very clearly in the episode title and description why he was leaving the show. He declined.
So I’m posting here instead.
“Without making this about me, I want you all to know I’m furious, crushed, and horrified by all of this. I always believed Citizen Radio was a genuinely safe space, and I’m trying to make it that way again.
I’m so, so sorry for letting anyone down.
Kilstein is a self-proclaimed feminist and has battled for women's issues in the past not only on his show, but on other podcasts, television, and in song. Often positioning himself in the middle of political activism and comedy, ruffling feathers on both sides in the process. Thus making this news all the more shocking to people.
While the full extent of the fallout from this news is not yet known and there no formal charges have been brought against Kilstein yet, we're already seeing outlets distancing themselves from the comedian. Record label Don Giovanni Records, who has released Kilstein's music in the past, announced they are severing ties with him and will no longer sell the album he released on the label.
I want to let everyone know that moving forward we will no longer be working with Jamie Kilstein on any new material nor will we be distributing/selling the album we previously released from him.
We believe all of the women involved and were able to come to a swift and easy decision without having to hear Jamie's side of the story or anyone else's.
This story is developing...
Update #1: Kilstein's likeness and words about his record announcement has been removed from the front page of the Citizen Radio website.