Rachel Maddow’s former adviser hit out at the MSNBC actress after she extended her contract to $25 million a year.
Keith Olbermann, who Maddow once credited with launching her television career, said her former assistant gave up his principles for his high salary.
Maddow reportedly negotiated a $25 million salary in a five-year contract with MSNBC for the weekly show, although her views have declined following Donald Trump’s election victory earlier this month.
Olbermann, who hosted Countdown with Keith Olbermann for eight years until 2011, made the comments after a social media user suggested that MSNBC, an independent network, could “change its identity” if it is sold by parent company Comcast.
They added: “Or else [Rachel Maddow] he must leave and build a new operation. “
Olbermann replied: “He just re-signed for $25 million. If you think he can do anything, I’ll light a candle for you.”
Rachel Maddow’s flagship show is losing viewers
While MSNBC is not for sale, it is spinning off Comcast’s NBCUniversal cable television arm, alongside CNBC, USA, E!, Syfy and the Golf Channel.
Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla founder, had teased that he might buy the network after news of its planned split from NBCUniversal hit the airwaves.
An unnamed executive told The Ankler that the network agreed to the deal because “no one else can do what he does” and “you can’t build a brand like that overnight”.
Musk has publicly considered terminating Maddow’s contract by canceling her five-year contract if he buys MSNBC from Comcast.
The broadcaster, which airs its own Rachel Maddow Show on Monday nights, has long been criticized for the salaries it commands.
His $25 million represents a pay cut from 2021, when he agreed to a $30 million a year deal reducing his commitments from five days a week to a weekly show.
“They’re really gambling there,” Jeffrey Sconce, a professor at Northwestern University, said at the time.
“I’m surprised they’re willing to pay that much to go from five nights a week to once a week.”
The relationship is bad
Olbermann and Maddow were once close, with the 65-year-old saying he hired Maddow as a donation “out of my own pocket” because the network refused to pay him enough.
He was eventually fired from the network after donating to several political campaigns and suspecting that his boss at the time, Jeff Zucker, was about to be fired by Comcast.
Olbermann helped Maddow launch her television career – NBC/NBCUniversal
Maddow paid tribute to Olbermann after his departure, telling viewers: “I wouldn’t have this show without Keith coming to the network to try.”
However, the relationship between the two as of now seems to have soured.
Olbermann said in March that he was in talks with officials to replace Maddow at 9pm while she was on vacation, but stepped in to veto her appointment.
“I wanted his production company to ‘edit’ the game. You would give him some proxy control and af-kton of money but he and [former MSNBC boss] Phil Griffin refused,” he told the Daily Beast.
MSNBC declined to comment when contacted by the media at the time.
Olbermann previously criticized Maddow for not calling for the firing of Kristen Welker, the Meet the Press host, in February.
He was one of the liberal speakers who believed that Welker should not cover up what he said.
“Because [Maddow] to have credibility up front, he has to risk $1 once in his life and he wants this publicly,” he said.
MSNBC has been approached for comment by The Telegraph.