What I read was that his contract requires him to tell jokes in poor taste, and that he would be given a warning before he would be fired if he said anything in too poor taste. So CBS not only knew what they were getting, they were requiring it.
I also understand his contract to be five years at $10 million per year. He worked one year of the five and was fired. So he isn't suing to get his job back; he's suing to get the $40 million left on the contract.
I hope he gets his money, too. He's no "dumbass", and he's hired one of the foremost First Amendment lawyers in the country to represent him. The hypocrisy at CBS and MSNBC during this mess was monumental.
I don't defend what he said, it was offensive, but CBS and MSNBC didn't bail on Imus until the big corporations cancelled their advertising. Had the advertisers mostly hung in there, Imus would be back on the air by now, finished with his two week suspension. And yet CBS and MSNBC issued statements about how offended they were by his act....and yet they knew exactly what they were getting, and even required edgy humor as part of his contract.
very well said.