Cenk Uygur's brief run as the 6 PM anchor on MSNBC has come to a close. The former 'Young Turks' web host left the network Wednesday after starting there in January. The parting of ways was, according to his own blistering account, mutual, and came after MSNBC executives told him to tone down his show because he was making "people in Washington" uncomfortable.

Uygur's video report about what went down in his final weeks at MSNBC is fairly dramatic. Despite improving on Ed Schultz's numbers when he occupied the 6 PM timeslot and besting CNN in June, Uygur paints a picture of network executives, including MSNBC President Phil Griffin, that were more concerned with reining in his brash, challenging, outsider style than ratings. The network offered him a high-paying job as a contributor when they moved him off the 6PM slot, Uygur said, but he turned it down.

The Reverend Al Sharpton has been filling in for Uygur for the last two weeks, notching solid ratings numbers. A report from TV Newser last week said the network was looking to make a change at 6 PM, and that Uygur could be replaced by Sharpton. Now it looks like that may be one step closer to happening.

Keith Olbermann tweeted that Uygur will be joining him as a guest on Thursday night's edition of 'Countdown.' We're going to go ahead and speculate that Olbermann might be eyeing Uygur as a potential host to build out Current's news and opinion lineup, something he's been promising to do since joining the fledgling network as its Chief News Officer in February. As former MSNBC refugees who both left network under pressure from "corporate," the two have a lot in common.

Update: According to Deadline, Uygur said in a press conference this morning that he has indeed been contacted by Current, and that while his immediate focus will be on his YouTube show, he's open to returning to cable news if he's given the freedom to be himself.

MSNBC also released a statement pushing back on Uygur's depiction of the circumstances surrounding his departure:

"Cenk's claims are completely baseless," the network says in a statement. "In fact, we were working on a new contract, to develop him into an even bigger television talent. We did have numerous conversations with Cenk about his style, not substance. It's unfortunate that he's decided to depart in such a negative fashion."




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