Radio talk show host Jason Ellis has been fired from his self-titled talk show on Sirius XM Faction Talk 103.
The Jason Ellis Show has been broadcasting since May 2005 and has built up a loyal army of listeners who have enjoyed the unscripted casual format of the show combined with Ellis’s blunt and sweary speaking style. The close-knit fan base refers to each other as ‘EllisFam.’
The 49-year-old Australian shocked fans when he took to Twitter last night to announce he’d been fired. He failed to give any reasons why.
The news was later confirmed on Twitter by the show’s co-host Mike Tully, which suggests that the whole team may have been let go.
The show runs every evening from Monday to Friday, and there’s been no word about when the last show will actually air. Sirius XM has not made any public announcement on the decision.
Last night, the former professional skateboarder and mixed martial arts fighter Ellis wrote on Twitter: “Wow! I just got fired. This is unbelievable.” He quickly followed that tweet by writing: “I’m devastated.”
Jason Ellis can’t believe show will be canceled
Four hours later, Ellis tweeted again to say that he still “can’t believe it.” A clearly emotional Ellis added: “15 years just like that out the door like nothing. Like it didn’t even happen! Still alive families good I’ll live.”
About an hour after Ellis’s first tweet, co-host Mike Tully also announced on Twitter that he’d been sacked. He quote-tweeted Ellis and stated: “I can confirm. Me too.”
Some fans wondered if it was all some kind of a joke, which caused Tully to follow up his first tweet with: “I do not blame anyone for thinking this is a joke. We deserve that. But we did not die and get fired – just plain old fired.” He added that there was no further information at this time.
There’s been no word as to why they’ve been fired, but the radio industry is known to be fairly cutthroat. Despite no official announcement, fans began to speculate as to the reason why the guys may have got the chop.
Some wondered if it was for political reasons; last year, Ellis came out as bisexual. Others wondered if he might have done a dodgy interview, and some folks suggested the ratings might have dropped.
Fans sorry to hear about Jason Ellis and Mike Tully firing
But most fans simply expressed sadness at the news and thanked Ellis and the team for 15 years of entertainment. One fan wrote: “Cheers to a good run.”
Many fans said they’d follow Ellis to another radio station or a podcast.
It seems the EllisFam will continue to keep their faith in Jason Ellis.
Chad Dukes was recently removed from his position at Washington DC-based sports radio station 106.7 The Fan after he was found to have used racist language while presenting his own podcast.
In some sad news, conservative radio personality Inga Barks passed away earlier this month after plying her trade for years in central California.