TV Meteorologist Fired For Nude Photo On MySpace

[matcom]

<snip>

A heroin addiction, a federal drug case and a frenzy of negative publicity were not enough to pull popular WSLS (Channel 10) meteorologist Jamey Singleton from the air.

Factor in a mean MySpace prank, though, and the forecast got much gloomier.

After a former friend posted a nude picture of Singleton, 28, on the Internet this week, Channel 10 management called in the weatherman at 1 p.m. Thursday and fired him.

"What's decent, what's indecent, what shocks and what offends -- that's really up to them," Singleton said at his apartment Thursday evening. "I can't blame them if ... after everything that's happened they said, 'That's the straw that broke the camel's back.' "

Channel 10 interim General Manager Shane Moreland said in a statement Thursday that Singleton broke the morals clause of his contract, which stipulates that he must not be involved in anything deemed "offensive or out of line with community standards."

Moreland declined to comment further.

According to Singleton, the picture was taken as a joke a few months ago at a friend's residence, where he was getting ready for work.

Singleton declined to identify the friend. He said it was not former WSLS meteorologist Marc Lamarre, who was fired for drug use earlier this year.

As Singleton stepped out of the shower, his friend barged in with a digital camera and took a picture of him from the front, fully naked, Singleton said.

"At the time I just chuckled, like, 'Oh, my God.' I didn't ever think that he would keep it and if he did keep it, I never would have thought that he would put it on the Internet," he said.

But the picture was posted on the friend's MySpace page on Tuesday, Singleton said, and the meteorologist quickly began to hear from friends who had seen it.

He notified MySpace and the picture disappeared within an hour.

"But of course, all it takes is one right click and save and someone has it on their computer forever and they can forward it forever," he said.

The picture was e-mailed to several of Singleton's co-workers and to Moreland, Singleton said.

"It's kind of a shocking picture of -- you don't want to see Jamey Singleton getting out of the shower, you want to see him doing the weather," he said.

Singleton's termination from WSLS marks the painful end of a long childhood dream.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/92003

[cwydro]

1. oh boy.

Some friend.

Hey, since you're the news hound, did you hear about the shooting at a Playstation line in Conn.?

[matcom]

2. yuppers. first thing this morning CNN broke in with it

by the time I got to the office it was already posted elsewhere

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. See?

Indisputable proof that MySpace is the root of all eee-vill. :grr: