Thursday, TMZ reported on the Public Broadcasting System's decision to sever ties with the funnyman and voice-over actor after it learned of his arrest in a XXX theater Wednesday night.
Willard, 72, was seen by undercover vice officers at the Tiki Theater last night engaging in what they call "lewd conduct." Sources say the comic had his pants down when officers moved in for the arrest.
After learning of the charges, PBS moved swiftly to fire Willard, for obvious reasons. The show has a long-standing reputation for being family-oriented and is a popular channel for kids.
Fred Willard has not commented since being fired or arrested. However, when Pee-Wee Herman was arrested on similar charges in 1991, it took a while for him to address the public about the incident.
DETAIL:
Shortly after news broke that Fred Willard was arrested for lewd conduct at a Los Angeles adult theater, PBS has nixed the actor from its squeaky clean slate. The network fired Willard from its new show “Market Warriors.”
A report from the New York Times confirms the news.
“Given the unfortunate news reported today, effective immediately, Fred Willard no longer will be involved with the ‘Market Warriors’ series,” a spokesperson for Boston public broadcast station WGBH told the source.
Willard acted as a narrator with a comedic touch for the show.
According to TMZ, in addition to the firing PBS will not show any unaired episodes featuring the actor moving forward. Instead, they will rebrand and repackage what they already have.
“Market Warriors” takes the traditional format of its long running hit “Antiques Roadshow” and adds fresher (aka younger) cast of treasure hunting experts in the vain History Channel’s “American Pickers.” The show premiered on July 16.
Willard was arrested on Wednesday night for lewd conduct. The American Wedding actor was allegedly caught with his pants down at the Tiki Theater in Hollywood when police stopped by for a standard penis check.
Hollyscoop previously confirmed the story with the theater’s manager, Kazi Jafor.
"The police were just doing a routine check-in,” he said. “They come in often.”
According to the employee, Willard was watching a film with four other patrons. The lewd conduct he was allegedly partaking in is strictly prohibited by the theater and the law.
"They police brought him outside. One of the officers said they should let him go, but they did not,” Jafor continued. "He was very upset."
0 comments:
Post a Comment