Talk about kicking a former partner while he’s down.
A gloating Fred Toucher took a victory lap a day after his ex co-host Rich Shertenlieb — who Toucher called a “backstabber” — lost his job.
Boston radio listeners had a feeling that Toucher would go off on Tuesday after Shertenlieb’s 100.7 WZLX show was canceled, and Toucher certainly didn’t hold back.
“Very exciting news,” Toucher said during his 98.5 The Sports Hub morning show “Toucher and Hardy.”
“I’ll be completely honest with you, I’m very happy that that’s over,” Toucher said of Shertenlieb’s canceled show. “I’m not surprised, and I’m very happy because I feel like he’s a backstabber and does not tell the truth, and is not loved by his fellow employees certainly here.”
After less than half a year, the Rich Shertenlieb Show on 100.7 WZLX has already been canceled. Shertenlieb made the announcement on Monday as iHeartMedia makes cuts across the board.
Shertenlieb, who was on 98.5 for many years before splitting up with Toucher, launched the sports show on the classic rock station in May — along with co-hosts Michael Hurley, Ted Johnson and others.
The ratings for Shertenlieb’s new show at WZLX ended up being brutal.
“After five months, The Rich Shertenlieb Show will no longer air on WZLX,” Shertenlieb posted on Monday. “To say that I’m disappointed is an understatement.”
“… Just over two months into the show, management decided to alter the format,” he added. “They wanted music, I did not. However despite my disagreement about the decision, I agreed to move forward and music was added… Thank you to iHeart for the opportunity. Just because we didn’t have the same vision doesn’t mean I don’t thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me a chance to assemble the team I’ve always wanted to work with.”
Rob “Hardy” Poole joined Toucher in the mornings after Shertenlieb left last year. Hardy during the show on Tuesday said he doesn’t want anyone to be out of a job, “so I can’t say that I’m happy about it.”
Toucher in response said, “Well to my understanding, he (Shertenlieb) tried to maneuver it to get me out of a job.”
Hardy responded, “Exactly, so that’s why I say you have a different history and a different mindset when it comes to that.”
Toucher claimed that he wouldn’t have said anything about Shertenlieb on Tuesday if his statement showed that he learned “any humility.”
“Like if he had learned anything from this experience,” Toucher said. “Like don’t backstab your friends, don’t be a snake, talk to people to their face, don’t lie about how you got into a situation. But there was no transparency, and it’s just still the same garbage. It’s everyone else’s fault… lies, lies, lies. Like it’s just nonsense. And you know, I can’t imagine he gets another job in the market, so I’ll never talk about him again.”
Shertenlieb’s show on the classic rock station was the third sports talk morning show in the market — trying to compete against 98.5’s “Toucher and Hardy” and WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”
“The whole concept behind it (the show) was horrible,” Toucher said, adding, “He, according to the ratings, alienated their entire existing audience and brought no one from the old audience with him, which is you know this ego and lack of humility to recognize your weaknesses.”
