Keith Olbermann Lashes Out Against Sources Of Maddow-Affleck Meltdown Rumor (VIDEO)

Update: Keith Olbermann scrapped his planned "WTF!?!" segment Thursday night on Roberta McCain and instead devoted the segment to addressing this rumor and lashing out against the outlet and author who published it.

For over seven minutes, Olbermann explained in detail his version of why he took three unplanned days off in April — that he was mourning his mother's death — and even felt forced to defend the way he grieved (by attending baseball games).

Olbermann had strong words for Cityfile's Remy Stern — calling him a "gossip idiot" — and for Wonkette, which Olbermann called a "lousy website" after it wrote a follow-up post mocking him.

Olbermann ended the segment with a sarcastic joke about his absence on May 4:

Finally, and just for the record, I also mysteriously took off Monday, May 4th, and was seen at the Yankees game that night with my friends Jason Bateman and David Cross. Stay tuned to Cityfile or Wonkette or Gawker or a Boston Globe blog, because maybe, maybe, I really had a fist fight with Brian Williams in the NBC commissary earlier in the day. Or maybe I had one to Westchester that afternoon to place the urn containing my mother's ashes in her final resting place. You know what they say. We report, you decide.

Watch:

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Earlier: Keith Olbermann has denied Cityfile's report that he had a meltdown and took three days off in April after a fight with Rachel Maddow over Ben Affleck.

Cityfile reported, based on an anonymous MSNBC source, that Olbermann took three days off following Affleck's appearance on Maddow's show. Olbermann, the rumor goes, attempted to get MSNBC executives to force Maddow and her producers into letting Affleck appear on "Countdown" instead, but was rebuffed.

Olbermann issued the following statement about his days off in April, citing his mother's death and not Affleck's appearance on Maddow's show:

That was my first opportunity to take even a long weekend to mourn my mother's death and deal with the many sad logistics subsequent to her sudden passing. The source of this story is a liar and those who spread it without seeking confirmation or refutation are beneath contempt.

MSNBC rep Alana Russo adds, "The Cityfile people, charmingly, posted the story today 4 minutes after they left me a message asking for comment."

Watch Affleck's April 16 appearance on "The Rachel Maddow Show" below:

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Comments

[Claireify]

This comment is for Keith: We love Countdown BUT the show is getting to be a little bit tabloidish. Sometimes, the more negative energy you put into a story/even­t/situatio­n, the more power it gains. It's really distracting to the guest or story at hand, to watch a jumping-up-and-down Rush in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. I have to close my eyes to listen to the show, kind of like--oh what's the name of that medium--oh yeah, radio!

[dredeize]

I disagree

[earlofwhichwitch]

Levi's

[pags62]

It has to be constantly on his mine about O'Reilly's 100 months at #1, he doesn't even come close.

[Khirad]

Yeah, like we want the one foot in the grave demo.

[MudKitty]

LOL You sure have Olbermann's talking points down. Fact is, the "One foot in the grave demo" usually votes, unlike the younger demographics.

[dredeize]

I think that you mean mind instead of mine. No Right wingers left behind.

[jordan3189]

This guy is SOOOOOOOOOOOO full of himself. It's all about him.

[Badgirl]

MAD magazine is a more reputable than City File. But, if you read City File for parody, satire and tag the stories as least likely, most unlikely or just plain old its-the-opposite. If you try to fight every ridiculous battle, you'll never get to the important stuff .

[GeneralBulldog]

People cope in their own ways. KO went to a sports game with friends. Might not make sense to some but, I mean, he is a sportscaster even during his time on Countdown. Could there be behind the scenes stuff going on at the channel, sure, but somehow even with all his flaws I trust Keith on this one. If the cat had to have a couple of days off and a game to cope with the loss of HIS MOTHER, then that his thing. I found out my father was at death's door I saw Crank 2. Wasn't because of trying to dishonor his memory or gain sympathy from others. I gain peace from movies. We all gain peace from that special place wherever it may be, no one should be criticized because we choose not to close ourselves off in solitude to deal in mourning. I say this not as left or right but just as someone who believes in having some decency and boundary between life and the job. There's a time and a place for everything and sometimes political ragging needs to be set aside.

[HiddenJames]

His mom was a huge baseball fan and going to games together was a big part of their relationship. he talked about that when she died.

[rootbeerpies]

Yeah! Posting is fun! It makes me feel like I'm having an actual conversation w/ real people!

Anyway... I like Rachel a lot. Sometimes I feel like she's single-handedly exploded the boundaries of television, creating a new paradigm for insightful, penetrating, progressive political and social analysis and commentary where once there was only chatter and noise. There are some nights, like her coverage of the tea parties and interviews w/ Joseph Stiglitz, that I truly believe fulfill the promise of long-ago, adversarial, leftist journalism from the 70's like "The Progressive" and "Mother Jones," a time in which the sphere of advocacy journalism (and everything else pre-internet) was so tiny (and yet, essential) compared to the monolithic enormity of mainstream media that it was practically screaming in the dark.

And yet, there are other nights where I can't watch the show b/c I'm cringing at a snarky comment. Then again, I'm unusually sensitive and nobody's perfect, right?

But, to my point! I hadn't heard of any of this Olbermann squabbling stuff, but I must say that over the last month or so, I have been slightly aware of a sort of barely-visible curtness in the between-show handoff btwn Keith and Rachel, almost as if a slight undercurrent of unspoken conflict exists btwn them, esp. b/c I seem to remember Rachel being much more engaged, i.e., bantering w/ Keith, in the past during those few seconds when they are on the screen together!

[clearthinker2008]

I like Rachel also, but she only cares about two issues with the exclusion of all others.

Torture
Military and war

I care about those issues but I also care about Health Care, Jobs, Unfair laws in this Country. Once in a while she touches on other issues but 80% of every show is about the two issues I listed above and frankly I'm starting to turn the channel. Obama doesn't condone torture, he's closing git and he isn't prosecuting anybody, he wants to move forward, write or wrong. I just wish she would give 20% to those issues and 80% to other progressive issue...

Kieth deserved to morn his mothers passing anyway he saw/sees fit.

[FGDinVA]

I noticed the curtness too. I also noticed that they would cut KO's sound way down during the hand-off and it was annoying. It was normal and more congenial last night though.

[ShanniC]

Keith can be a little over the top sometimes, but common sense dictates that you don't bad mouth the dead. If someone spread vicious lies about my mama, I would put them on blast!

[ladasue]

Okay, but I don't think anyone did that. The original Cityfile report, which I'm not defending or even care about in the least, made no mention of KO's mother. Wonkette, which makes no pretense of being anything other than a comedy gossip site, merely linked to the report. It was Olbermann who brought up his mother, first on Kos then on his show, and made it out like he was being attacked because of his mother's death. I have some respect for KO, but I sense a bit of emotional manipulation in his response. If he had wanted the story to die he would have issued a brief denial and that would have been the end. I question why he has chosen to keep the story going.

[Tommygun264]

In the words of Ben Affleck, "HOW DARE YOU, SIR!". ;-P

[Khirad]

Where were the rights of Miss Precious Perfect?!

[murf 1 98]

Which one of the 15 people who watch him noticed he was gone?

[NotStarvingArtist]

I must be one of the 15. I watch him and when he's not there, I notice.

[murf 1 98]

You could save yourself a lot of time by making stuff up on your own. It would be like he's on 24 hours a day.

[DDA]

Mr. Affleck brings up a very good pointthe print Media has shot themsrlves in the foot. With the advent of the internet and the Right Wing Conservtives owning and controling the vast majority of the Media and trying to control the flow of news to best fit there agenda.

Notice the lack of REAL Investigative reporting and the large increase of TRASH or better known as CHARACTER assination, oh yes and nothing is real it is Entertainment.

Bailout rhee controlled Media I don't think so, at least what they call media today.

[murf 1 98]

The right wing controls the media? You must really be a Socialist or something. Please explain to me how NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, PBS, NYT, to name a few are right wing. Wow, you must really be out there.

[HiddenJames]

He didnt say that outlets themselves are right-wing. He said that ownership was "trying" to control the flow of news. Please read more carefully.

GE owns NBC and MSNBC. GE is not liberal. And public television is overseen by a board dominated by right-wingers, at least until Obama's nominees are in place.

[mnyobpres]

Keith doesn't take any BULL Pucky from IDIOTS and he shouldn't have to take it.

ROCK ON Keith! ROCK ON Bro!

[murf 1 98]

Why would he, he never has anyone on his show that doesn't drink the same flavor Kool-aid.

[Khirad]

I hope you don't watch or listen to any right-wing media, otherwise that is a patently hypocritical accusation to launch.

[montecarlo408]

I don't see how any right winger can rag on Keith. He's a little emotional sometimes, but we have O'Reilly in full tantrum mode, on tape, memorialized forever for all to see.

[Ariadne]

Not to mention Glen Beck in tears.

[Yarrr]

Olbermann has every right to address lies about him on his show. It's what he does every night, debunk right wing lies.

[firewmn]

Buck up Keith.. its only fodder for the "aint nothing better to do"..

[ThomasMc]

Only the damned (and I mean that literally) Right Wing would criticize someone for taking time off to mourn his mother's death.

[ohiomark]

Keith has very thin skin.

Get over it Keith. When you are on TV, you become fair game for criticism by others in the media.

Ya know, just like you obsession with Bill O'Reilly.

[Aaron Haynes]

Oh, was this criticism?

[RichInSeattle]

I don't know, if you lie about something like the death of someones mom, then you deserve to get called out on it.

This is the problem with relying on only online news instead of real journalists.