*Bob Johnson, or as he's now known, Billion Dollar Bob, had his say last night about the Tavis Smiley/BET/Viacom blow up.
Johnson, the founder and CEO of Black Entertainment Television
appeared on the "BET Tonight" show to put his spin on the controversy surrounding the firing of Smiley from the network. And that appeared to be the whole point; he wants you to know that he and he alone pulled the trigger on Tavis, not his boss, Mel Karmazin, the man who runs Viacom, which now owns BET.
"I wanna make it clear Mel Karmazin had absolutely nothing
to do with this decision, " Johnson emphatically tated. "There's
no conspiracy to silence Tavis' voice."
Johnson said he terminated Smiley because of the interview he did with Sara Jane Olson (03-26-01 EUR), who is reportedly a former member of the infamous Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). That interview appeared on Viacom competitor, ABC's "Primetime Thursday," and Johnson claims that's what pissed him off enough to fire Smiley.
"He never offered the opportunity for that interview to appear
on BET," Johnson said, but then admitted that Smiley had no
obligation to offer the interview to BET -- but, "Based on our 5
year relationship, that he should have made an effort in the
best interest of our business relationship to ask BET if we
wanted to have an opportunity to air that interview."
In a statement prepared for his appearance on this morning's
Tom Joyner show, Smiley's response was that his contract did
not require a first look or first right of refusal by BET.
"Only that whenever and wherever I appeared, the network had to identify me as BET talent. Second, the Olson interview was an investigative news piece costing (me) well into six figures to produce. Unprecedented at BET. Not to mention that the Olson interview did not fit my 'BET Tonight' format or for that matter, any other show format on BET. Three, Olson is a white woman who approached me respectful of my interview skills and style, but also hoping to get broad exposure. As part of the negotiation process to land this interview on network television, my representatives, operating in good faith, made BET's sister network CBS (also owned by Viacom) aware of our exclusive. For whatever reason, CBS passed and a deal was struck with ABC. Finally, I find it even more curious that Mr. Johnson would move to dismiss me for selling one interview featuring a white woman to a white company, when he sold the entire network to a white company."
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