Olbermann Leaves MSNBC

Never one to shy away from a pro-marriage equality position on the air, Keith Olbermann announced Friday an abrupt departure from his MSNBC show, Countdown.

Olbermann, who had signed a four-year extension contract in 2008 for a reported $30 million, told viewers that "all that surrounded the show -- but never the show itself -- was just too much for me." Olbermann's Friday night appearance will be his last, he said.

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell will replace Olbermann's show, The New York Timesreports.

Memorable marriage monologues from Olbermann include these comments from 2008, just days after a majority of voters passed California's Proposition 8 (see video below).

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