Gregg "Opie" Hughes has been fired by SiriusXM, capping off what's been a tumultuous time for the talk show host and the satellite radio giant.
There had been speculation that Hughes' days were numbered and earlier this afternoon, SiriusXM released a statement to All Access that read, "SiriusXM confirms it has terminated its relationship with Gregg 'Opie' Hughes, host of the Opie Radio Show weekday afternoons on the Faction Talk channel. SiriusXM does not publicly discuss internal personnel issues." Opie's co-host, comedian Sherrod Small, later sent out a series of Tweets confirming the firing but leaving the door open for a possible show reunion somewhere else - the speculation instantly being he's headed to former co-host, Anthony Cumia's Compound Media.
While no reason has been given, it's been a bumpy road for Opie and SiriusXM. He most recently came under fire after an HR complaint was made by an employee before the holiday about Opie filming a video with said employee while using the bathroom. This had many speculating as the cause for his dismissal. While entirely possible, the writing on the wall seemed to be present for a long time and this might've been the last straw in a long string of arguments the host had with SiriusXM management.
During his last contract negotiation in the fall of 2016 Hughes had a messy separation from his co-host Jim Norton, had his channel name changed, and was placed into the afternoon drive slot. Leaving Norton to continue to host mornings with former Opie & Anthony producer Sam Roberts. Hughes felt slighted by this very public breakup/relocation and appeared to have issues with management ever since.
The firing of Hughes puts an official end to original hosts of the beloved Opie & Anthony Show and their relationship with SiriusXM. In 2014 Anthony Cumia had a very public falling out with SiriusXM after a Times Square incident where he was assaulted. Coincidentally (or karmically) that too happened right before the 4th of July weekend.