Sep 19, 2008 5:00 pm US/Pacific
Pat O'Brien Reportedly Leaving 'The Insider'
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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TV Personality Pat O'Brien attends gold medal presentation honoring "In the Heights" star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda at the National Arts Club on June 2, 2008, in New York City.
Will Ragozzino/Getty Images
After more than four years as host of the celebrity gossip show, "The Insider," Pat O'Brien is said to be making an exit.
According to E! Online, no official reason was given for O'Brien's departure, but a show representative said the decision was mutual. The representative reportedly told People magazine, "Although we have decided to part ways, everyone at CBS Television Distribution and The Insider greatly appreciate and respect all his contributions to our show. We wish Pat much success in his future endeavors."
Blogs were abuzz, however, with speculation that it was an e-mail O'Brien fired off to "Insider" colleagues as well as at "Entertainment Tonight" that prompted his departure.
According to the e-mail, published online by the New York Post, O'Brien sent the e-mail after spending time on the road in Iowa. "I was approached a hundred times by people asking, 'Can you help us?' I tried to tell them we care, but they didn't buy it," O'Brien's e-mail read. The e-mail goes on to make a critical statement about the show's host, Lara Spencer.
Neither O'Brien or representatives from "The Insider" have confirmed or denied whether the e-mail had anything to do with O'Brien's departure.
O'Brien joined "the Insider" in 2004. He was demoted from hosting the show after a short stay in rehab in 2005 when voice mails surfaced of him making sexually explicit comments to an undisclosed female.
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