The wonderful spirit of Erik Lanigan has passed on

Erik Lanigan will be dearly missed by fans of his wonderful online work.
Erik Lanigan will be dearly missed by fans of his wonderful online work.

Many in the tech community—and we here especially at TotalDrama—would like to respectfully mark the passing of a wonderful young man: Erik Lanigan was a lively and engaging personality, noted for his late-night tech show among many others. He has passed away according to a report on the website of the International Association of Internet Broadcasters.

We wish his family peace and want them to know that Erik brought a little more joy into our lives just by being himself. He will be missed.

A fan sent us this beautiful way to remember Erik.
A fan sent us this beautiful way to remember Erik.

222 thoughts on “The wonderful spirit of Erik Lanigan has passed on”

  1. I watched Erik on his brief stint on TWiT doing his late night show. I always felt he had a genuine appeal and added weight to the network.

    I was sad to see him go, and sadder to hear of his passing.

    Best wishes to his friends and family.

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  2. This is so sad… Best talent Twit ever had, no doubt about it.

    I used to check out his website and twitter every now and then, hoping he would update but he never did. 🙁

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  3. Extremely sad news; Erik was fantastic.

    Pick most any Erik clip or longer-form video on Youtube and you really see a wonderful, naturalistic speaking and hosting style that was cut short too soon from the world getting to enjoy it for decades more.

    Knowing exactly when to pause to keep the listener’s attention, remarkably devoid of “Um”s and “Ahhh”s and other verbal bad habits, following that “old-school” radio axiom many broadcasters strive to obtain of “reaching” the listener by making your listener feel as if you’re simply having a casual conversation with them, and weaving a compelling narrative story out of even small things, it was no wonder that Leo recognized talent there and considered at times Erik to be his protégé, confident enough to trust for a TTG national radio fill-in (that ultimately did not materialize). Case in point of Erik’s breezy naturalistic delivery style and delight at unfolding a tale for the audience:

    http://youtu.be/QgIwFTBUeuU

    RIP.

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  4. So very sad to hear of this young man’s passing.

    People should always remember the best about a person when they are no longer here to defend themselves and most people show that simple respect.

    I only hope that no snide remarks arise from a certain “Internet Celebrity” this weekend if anyone comments to him about it. Though it will only reinforce my personal belief about that jaded internet celebrity.

    I can only say that his family will be in my thoughts and prayers even as belated this news may have been to us all. RIP Erik Lanigan.

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  5. This is too bad. As others have suggested, I think we can all the guess what likely happened as family and coworkers were keeping it quiet for so long.

    Pretty sad stuff indeed – he seemed like a happy go-lucky guy when he was on the air a few years ago.

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  6. Twit’s bio of Lanigan refers to him the way an obituary would, “Erik was a freelance tech journalist and host of Late Night Tech, a show which aired on the TWiT network until late November 2011.” Google’s retrieval date is Dec 27, 2013.

    Shit got real.

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    1. Last night, a bunch of us in the #drama chat were thinking about Erik, and we decided to scour the internet to find out what he’s been doing with his life. To all of our dismay, we instead found a public court record of his death, along with the other death notice posted below. We contacted a guy who used to work with Erik, and he in turn contacted a member of Erik’s family, and they verified that Erik did indeed pass away last year.

      I’ve been watching some videos of Erik tonight, and I feel tears welling up in my eyes. Erik showed so much hope, so much promise. He was a great host, and he seemed like a really great guy. I watched every single one of his shows, and if I was busy that particular night, I’d watch it on the Justin.tv archive the next day.

      I don’t know about anyone else, but Erik’s unfortunate dismissal from TWiT in November 2011 was the first of many things that led me to come to Total Drama. I rewatched a lot of the video from November 2011 when it all went down, and it was painful seeing how badly they treated Erik. I still wish that none of this ever happened.

      But I don’t want to spend any more time on the negatives. Let’s celebrate his life and all of the great things Erik did both on and off camera in his all-too-short life. He was only a public figure for three years out of his 27 year life, but during that time, he won over the hearts of all of us.

      RIP Erik. I miss you, man. 🙁

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  7. What a shame. Erik was such a talented guy but he couldn’t find an outlet for it.

    Did you know Premier Radio was thinking of having him s a guest host for Leo? (Until Leo got rid of him that is). Unfortunately it seems like he never got that big opportunity after that. He guest hosted some podcasts but then I never heard from him.

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  8. So this is his father? http://www.laniganlaw.com

    A few times over the last year I wanted to see what he was up to as he just seemed to disappear, but I couldn’t find anything. I’m so incredibly sad to hear about his death because I was very inspired by how much work he did. I thought he would go on to great things and he really showed a lot of talent.

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      1. Leo has most all of the characteristics of an individual with narcissistic personality disorder, hence the continuous trainwreck. If you happen to know someone like him, simply light fuse! Get away!

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        1. My last boss was like him – and he was a small business owner, just like Leo.

          He was pretty much the single-worst owner/boss I have ever known of in real life. I don’t even list the company or position or work I did there, because the whole experience was such a rotten one.

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          1. I had a couple NPD diagnosed people in the immediate family, unfortunately. I brought it to the discussion because Leo’s dumping all over this young man is one characteristic thing they do. Poisoning the well sometimes backfires. But more often, they harm themselves and others in a serial fashion. Step right up, next victim.

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  9. This is very sad news. I remember when he was at CES and then then he stopped on twitter. I was thinking he just got busy. He was working for Jason and doing other tech shows. I really would like to know what happen. Even if people knew and did not want to say what happen they should have said something on twit if they new.

    Just sad day today.

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  10. It’s very sad to hear about this. It was after he was fired and watched the vids of Leo and Lisa talking about him on Inside Twit and such that I started to despise that bitch Lisa. I saw her vindictiveness and it was ugly.

    Every now and then I’d check his twitter feed to see if he had started something else up on his own or moved to another network but nothing.

    It’s even sadder we didn’t find out this news till almost a full year after his passing. I would love to know what happened too.

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  11. I suppose there is a predictable conclusion to be drawn from this “new” old information – hope I’m wrong.

    Erik was a very talented host for such a young guy, TWiT were extremely stupid to dispense with his services. They struggle to find talent, any talent, and then when they do find someone with great potential, like Erik, they fire him.

    I used to check his website and Twitter account now and again and couldn’t work out why they hadn’t been updated and why there was no apparent trace of him anywhere on the ‘net. Now I know but would prefer I didn’t.

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    1. He was a threat to Leo and didn’t kiss his ass that’s why they fired him besides that damn bitch Lisa hated Eric to death. How many lives does that bitch need to destroy? Abby’s life is in ruins after what Lisa has done their family. How many people have to have their lives destroyed so Lisa can get her way?

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      1. Well you gotta remember, the kid had natural talent that Leo immediately realized…and for a long time The Tech Guy made far more money than TWiT did, and basically brought in a lot of TTG audience to TWiT podcasts.

        It was clear if Erik got on TTG he’d likely be the one asked to run the show again vs. Leo (younger, hipper, would bring in more advertisers) and Lisa would HAVE NONE OF THAT. And Leo did a 180 when he realized how likely it was that he’d be canned if Erik guested on TTG.

        It was a pretty bad story.

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      2. It’s silly to think that any one person can have the power to ruin lives, let alone with a (relatively) small internet broadcasting company.

        If what some speculate is true, there are likely other issues at play that factor in far greater. Depression being one of them.

        If you let someone ruin your life, that’s on you.

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        1. I agree. Each one of us are responsible for our actions & reactions. Erik was very talented & a quick learner. It seemed like he gradually withdrew from the tech community. All of us being at distances on the globe, didn’t have daily or even frequent contact. I know that the tech community would try to help EriK. Think a job loss is traumatic. I was going through it too. It’s hard to pick up the pieces & keep on. A follow up should be done. Find some way to keep up with the person. They need support emotionally. I am totally sadden about his death on 02/18/2013.

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      1. No we don’t know the cause of death. However our immune systems or vulnerable to stress. Job loss & job search is challenging. I just wished I & us could had been there for him. We just didn’t know!

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    1. We’ve all been fired before. What you do next is on you. I wish I could travel back in time and give that kid a pep talk, because he needed to buck up and move on.

      So much talent and potential that will never be realized.

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      1. Agree. Some of us lose hope & go into despair. Wish we were tough. You have to call for help & be loved. I know that his family & friends loved him. Wished he would had done so. I did when I lost my job. Worked 30 years & my lost was due to decreasing memory & mental health. Couldn’t keep up with the young folks.

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  12. This story has nothing to do with TWiT, that’s why it was released on IAIB and not here. We don’t want to devolve into this being someone’s fault. Everyone has been fired or dumped in their life and it’s not fair to blame a boss or girlfriend.

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    1. Well, in a perfect world you’d be right but there’s no doubt that TWIT and Lisa effectively poisoned the waters. The guy was having trouble keeping a roof over his head even when he was at TWIT due to crap pay and broken promises. A slide always begins somewhere and in this case the start is undeniably TWIT.

      TWIT deserves no defending and no quarter for what it has become and what it has done to talent.

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      1. It’s not a defense of TWiT, it’s a defense of personal responsibility and self-reliance.

        It’s easy to get caught up in the end of a relationship or a job being the end of the world, but it’s not. It’s not even close to that.

        We’ve seen a lot of former TWiT employees go on to other things. Someone compiled a long list of those departed who were able to get work after TWiT. Makes me doubt TWiT’s water poisoning skills.

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        1. Regardless of whether or not TWiT was the straw that broke the camel’s back regarding Erik, it was PAINFULLY OBVIOUS that Leo and Lisa had no intention of helping the guy, yet they gave him every reason (for months and months!) to believe he had a future doing what he enjoyed doing (and was really good at).

          So no, they can’t be single-handedly blamed, but they for sure were a pretty significant factor – especially if they set off a string of career failures that caused the guy to go back across the family with his tail between his legs (which I’m guessing happened).

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          1. You don’t know that they were “a pretty significant factor” – we know nothing about this. Anything you say is just “guessing” – as you mention.

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          2. It’s educated guessing, and when families try to keep a death secret (especially about a young person), it’s almost always drug and/or suicide related.

            When you connect the dots:

            – Dad is a lawyer in Florida, and high-income earning professionals often expect impressive things from their kids, because A) they did it and B) the kids have a solid upbringing with lots of potential

            – Son is adventurous – wants to head across country to California to work in the tech industry – hopefully as on-screen or on-radio talent

            – Son gets mixed up early on with TWiT and Leo/Lisa go out of their way to make all the bad blood between parties public. Kid is basically blackballed out of the gate.

            – Guy gets a few small time bites from much smaller shows, but nothing he can make a living or rely on career-wise

            – It’s likely he went out west on father’s dime (most young people are poor), so when he failed to make enough headway, he likely had to head back home

            – Maybe he viewed his failed cross-country career move as something he couldn’t get passed -OR- maybe it was something totally unrelated that messed up his thinking

            – Then in late ’13/early ’14 something happened where no one in his family wants to talk about it.

            =======================

            Obviously we don’t have all the facts, but you can make a fairly sound explanation because we have enough.

            We cannot directly blame Leo/Lisa/TWiT for what happened, but it’s pretty obvious they derailed that kid’s objectives in a pretty spectacular fashion. They basically did character assassination on him at the start of his career, in a very small field.

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          3. Another internet Matlock.

            Yeah everything seems to make PERFECT sense when you’re just stretching to confirm your own biases and prejudices.

            But don’t feel bad, most people are pathetically wired this way, bending over backwards to twist everything into proof that their own personal version of the universe is the absolute truth.

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        2. Considering the name you’re posting as I’m not surprised at that position. It’s not that easy to be successful when the place you’re starting your career gives you the shaft and poisons the waters.

          All those other examples of talent gaining success post-TWIT already had a presence in broadcasting long before TWIT. Merritt came over from TechTV as did Sarah. Jason and Iyaz came from Cnet and PCWorld respectively. Shwood and JuRY already had a following before they joined TWIT and Shwood was already an acclaimed magician and performer.

          In other words, if you start your career at TWIT, the powers that be can certainly end it.

          BTW, before you mention Father Bobo, He has the entire Catholic church to back him up and was doing his own podcast long before TWIT. Being removed from TWIT would have zero effect on his future.

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      2. Possibly true. However, starting at TWiT, would give a person experience. Erik was so skilled and had a great resume and education. I just don’t understand why he stopped Tweeting 01/01/2013. Prior to his last Tweet, he Tweeted frequently. Also he was on YouTube & several podcast.

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  13. There is a lot of hate here that leads to a lot of awful accusations. The problem is that we don’t really know what happened. Even if people think it was his own decision to end it (which was nowhere confirmed), then we don’t know why. it could be something completely personal.

    It is sad to see he has passed on. Very very sad. He had a good on-air personality and therefore he had a future. He made some mistakes IMO but nothing that could not be overcome. (PS from the outside it does look like Twit overreacted but we don’t know what really happened behind the scenes. At least Leo and Lisa wrongly dealt with it from a public point of view) .

    The only thing I find weird is that it took almost a year before somebody noticed it. That’s weird for somebody who had a relatively public live.

    RIP Erik

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  14. When will Leo & Lisa learn that their spitefulness towards their x-staff and fans has universal repercussions.

    I am sure Lisa & Leo are quietly pleased with this very sad turn of events. I hope they will remember what goes around comes around.

    Rest in Peace Erik – knowing you were loved by all of us, and your haters will have to answer to their God.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHQ0fLN63UE

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      1. People who are extreme narcissists often have psychopathic tendencies. They can easily put on a show of acting like they care, but greed and power are their only concerns.

        They might not be jumping for joy, but I’d be shocked if they gave it more than a passing thought.

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        1. You wouldn’t be giving it more than a passing thought either if it wasn’t associated with your obsessive hatred of Leo Laporte.

          I mean get real and look in the f’ing mirror. It’s ironic people like you are so quick to throw out pop psychology terms like they actually mean something, and like you actually know what you’re talking about, yet you never self diagnose.

          What does it mean to have an all consuming obsession with a minor public figure so intense that it leads to deranged conspiracy theory seeming reasonable?

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      2. Agree. I don’t think anyone at TWiT wish him dead. That is ridiculous. They probably saw his skills & popularity as a threat. When working for someone, need to know when we may be crossing boundaries. What is a difficult task for young people to learn. I had chatted with Erik while he worked at Twit via email. Tried to encouraged him to respect boundaries.

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  15. As much as I think Leo and lisa did not support Erik as they should have as a company for a guy who could have been the next leo Laporte, I do not think they had anything to do with his death.

    Erik left the internet around 2012. He died in 2014. He had been on many other Podcast and shows over the time he left TWIT. Working with Jason C. and others. He was also on a radio show doing tec and went to CES on his own dime. Right now no one knows what happen really or the ones that do are not talking.

    But to be fair to Leo and Lisa they did not have that much love for Erik before they moved to the brickhouse. It seems he rubbed people the wrong way. But funny for a guy who was so exicted about tech rubbing people the wrong way at a place about tech. I just never got that. But he was taken off TNT long before the brickhouse.

    I think the reason they let him go was he found out about Leo and Lisa and they were not happy about it but they could not fire him over it. But when he talked about not getting support on his show which all he said is he would like a call screener. They blew it up as a reason to let him go. They found a reason.

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    1. If one wanted to blame Twit, one would also have to blame Tom as he pushed to hire Jason to replace Erik as TD.

      But I have no interest in playing the blame game, I’d rather remember Erik for what he liked to do and the joy he brought to his audience!

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    2. Yes he knew. He knew before Lisa & Leo made it public. Why couldn’t he had kept silent & focused on his work. He probably made inappropriate comments. I heard them on YouTube & cringed. I will miss Erik. Periodically I would search for his name on Stitcher radio. Etc.

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  16. Erik never fully recovered after Leo’s on air character assaination, only appearing on a few minor podcasts until disappearing. I stand by what I said – Leo ruined his life.

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    1. Yes, he never recovered but he was on a lot of shows that were not minor. You have twit and rev3 and everyone else. They may not have had the money of twit but they sure were not minor.

      You may stand by what you said but what you said is wrong.

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        1. Completely agree. I believe Erik took his own life and Leo and Lisa trashing his reputation are 100% the reason why it came to that. You would indeed be a fool to deny it.

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        2. Sometimes we all have foot in mouth disease . We say too much in front of people who influence our careers. I was grateful that I didn’t gossip. I wanted my job & I was a nurse. I learned about keeping things confidential and HIPPA law.

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  17. At will employment, which the vast majority of us fall under means an employer much like TWiT need not fire for cause.

    If in fact they wanted to relieve him of duties when he “discovered” the relationship, they did not need an excuse.

    In any event, it is very sad to hear Eric is no longer with us. I too had hoped he would resurface.

    The rise of Pateron and the like, it is truly unfortunate. Tom Merritt very much pioneered for the “TWiT fallen” a model of self empowerment and is flourishing, independently.

    Eric no doubt, would have found a following if he had gone a crowd funded route if he decided to continue to pursue what seemed to be his passion.

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  18. I’m curious if Leo will be making any statement on the subject of Erik’s passing, whether it be on the TWiT network, Twitter, or his Facebook/G+ pages.

    If I were him I’d make the time to come to the TWiT studio to make an on-air statement acknowledging Erik’s passing and the contributions he made to the TWiT network in its infancy and that that TWiT likely wouldn’t have evolved in its early days without his contributions. But that isn’t likely to happen, IMO

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    1. Leo Laporte and Lisa Kentzell will laugh out loud at these news, that’s the kind of people they are.

      They treated Erik like shit. I hope they have the decency to make an apology or keep their mouths shut.

      This death is on their hands too.

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    2. He mentioned it on the end of TWiT but very briefly. No one in studio said anything. Some of the people probably didn’t know Erik. Again, most people need their jobs & dare to comment. It’s a sad reality. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you. I would had a hard time working in fear. I was an essential employee. However, never had the attitude that I would be difficult to replace. It did take 3 different hires & 6 month including repeat orientations. The fact is that it can be done!!! Plus automation in health care was impacting jobs.

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  19. Does anybody actually believe that Leo didn’t know about his passing which occurred almost a year ago? No, he just pretended Erik never existed and kept feeding his fat face.

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    1. Leo is a big fat asshole but I don’t think he knew. I would believe Lisa knew and never told him more then I would believe that leo knew and did not say anything. Leo can not keep anything private for more then 50 seconds.

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      1. Even Rankin tried to keep in touch with him. They did a podcast at one time. Thought a lot about Erik. He enjoyed him on the podcast. For whatever reason people do start new assignments.

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  20. That’s pretty terrible. He seemed like a hard working guy trying to make it. Think things really fell apart after fatty canned him and then gloated about it on air. Watch out Chad…

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    1. Yea I fear for Chad now. Moves out to Petaluma at the request of Leo and then later is fired. Now what is left for him when he changed his whole life for TWIT. I hope we don’t see Chad Johnson has passed away on here next after what that damn bitch Lisa has done.

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        1. Except that Chad is doing his own thing and making his own way forward in the world. I think Erik could have done something equally amazing if he’d tried, and I’m sad/frustrated/angry that he didn’t because he was so damn talented.

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      1. I thought about that. I am hoping that he is strong. Also praying his friends will be there for him. Think a lot about the staff at TWiT. You guys in the tech field help Chad & anyone who absorbs a loss. Some of us don’t always think a job is a loss. I seriously thought that Erik with all his talents & skills was going from TWiT to another tech job. I mean right away, hired.

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    1. More like a destroyed life count by Lisa. Look at what has happened to Abby went to college at Brown University then Leo has an affair with Lisa. This has lead to her doing drugs and her arrest and her dropping out of college. Years later still does drugs and doesn’t work and sponges off Leo for cash for everything. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her pass on soon.

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      1. As much as I like dissing Leo, you can hardly blame the actions of grown adults on someone else.

        His daughter – whatever issues she does/doesn’t have – decided to live her life how she wanted.

        Now that doesn’t mean a parent’s actions/behavior can’t influence kids’ thinking or feelings, but ultimately, you can’t 100% blame this on Leo and more than we can connect the Erik/Leo dynamic.

        So for people here who say Leo/Lisa were directly responsible for Erik’s fate — no, that’s not accurate. They were obviously directly responsible for derailing his career in the tech live/radio hosting field, but in the end, whatever happened couldn’t be traced back directly to them.

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      2. Bard College, founded in 1860 as St. Stephen’s College, is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States, in the town of Red Hook.

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  21. Here you go Brian…

    RED HOOK

    — Impersonation: Abby P. Laporte, 19, of Petaluma, Calif. was arrested Saturday at 8:31 a.m. by state police at Rhinebeck and charged with misdemeanor impersonation, violation possession of marijuana and violation public appearance under the influence of drugs. She was issued tickets to appear in Red Hook Town Court.

    LINK:http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20110501/tonights-law-disorder-may-1-2011

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    1. Very classy of you to attack someone’s daughter and not let her move on with her life.

      People will never be able to move on if jerks like you won’t let things die.

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      1. Yeah, speaking the truth is a terrible thing. The problem is, learning from mistakes is the important part. Time doesn’t make things forgivable. Becoming a better person from those mistakes is what matter. In my books, if you are a loser, you need to work even harder to prove to me you aren’t. Not that a give a crap about Abby anyways.

        Now, with Erik… Making shit up and driving a guy out of his livelihood, especially when he was actually talented, that is criminal. He actually contributed to the world.

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        1. Moron… lunatic… those charges mean she had a fake id and was smoking pot.

          You get that right? Classy trying to pain her like she was an extra in Train Spotting because it makes for convenient character assassination of Leo, who you’re obsessed with like every other loser on this pathetic blog.

          WOW! BIG NEWS! A college kid stuck in a puritanical back water got arrested because she snuck into a bar and smoked a joint.

          Her parents must be PURE EVIL!

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  22. This news is so upsetting, but oddly relieving. I have been googling Erik’s name on a weekly bases waiting for some return on his website or twitter account. He was such an amazing talent.

    We don’t know the circumstances of his demise, however, you have to recall he did miss several LNT shows previous to his let go at TWiT. He claimed for health reasons. There is no question that Leo and Lisa did launch a campaign to ruin his reputation as well. Erik was upset enough to post a video to display the truth about what happened to him at TWiT. This alone reflects he was upset about the whole scenario.

    So very sad.

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  23. A 19 year old smoked pot, that puts her in with about 88% of Teens in the United states.

    No one knows anything about the last two years of Erik’s life but people are comfortable blaming this on a former boss? I don’t get it.

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      1. Neither is posting a video extensively trashing your former employer. You can have all the talent in the world, but I don’t know any company that would hire someone that did something like that (especially with the clear time and effort that went into it).

        We’re all fans of that video, but it probably hurt Erik’s career prospects a lot more than his actual dismissal. It’s a very depressing situation and it’s a tragedy that Erik let it define him.

        Much more damaging than a misdemeanor for pot.

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        1. Former employee? according to Leo, he was never really employed at the time. Erik did not trash leo in that video. Leo trashed himself in that video. There was not ONE single incident of Erik trashing Leo .. EVER ..

          That’s the problem. The mindless keep giving into the Leo Distortion field and it blocks way for new talent to take the reigns. Now we are forced to be bombarded with a bunch of regurgitated tech nonsense from 1995. If I have to hear the .. If you have been infected with malware, you need to restore from a known good source line again… I am gunna puke.. Leo is old. It is blatantly obvious that he doesn’t care about his job anymore and is only trying to cash in as much as he can.

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          1. The video Erik made it just what Leo said in his own words about Erik. Erik could have said a lot worse then he did considering he wasn’t being pad for work done which is a failure on the bitch Lisa’s department yet again. Who wouldn’t be upset about not being paid for good work?

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          2. “If you have been infected with malware, you need to restore from a known good source line again”

            To be fair, as someone who’s done IT Support previously in the past – if a machine is infected, it’s pointless to use Random XYZ Remover software – salvage what user files you can, and nuke the OS from orbit. Start over from scratch. If you do anything else, you are just fooling yourself into thinking the machine is “clean” because you ran XYZ Cleaner software.

            You. Wipe. Everything.

            It’s almost always faster to do this too, vs. spending hours scanning and diagnosing what’s been tampered with/infected.

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        2. He wasn’t even being paid. Leo said it was a mistake after it came to light. Leo and his sniggering cunt Lisa were slagging him off publicly on air. I’d have done exactly the same so the truth would be put out.

          Erik was ambitious and they did everything in their power to stifle his progress. They didn’t want anyone being more knowledgeable or talented than Leo.

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          1. More importantly, they didn’t want to lose the lucrative Tech Guy gig, which is EXACTLY what would have happened if suddenly this young, hip, well-spoken and knowledgeable personality started filling in for Leo.

            Leo and Lisa knew it. And since Leo had already made public plans to get Erik on TTG shortly, they had to find a way to get him off the air quickly **AND** ruin his professional character so the radio company wouldn’t approach Erik ever.

            It worked.

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          2. @Scott

            You should probably reflect on the likely dissonance between Léo’s public utterances (especially re:TTG), his actual intentions, and his powers with Premiere.

            Léo can’t even get them to take Scott as a fill-in any more, what do you think the likelihood was some one with little on-air training and no lokal (let alone national) radio experience was going to get a crack at TTG?

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      2. Another moron…

        Yeah “3 charges”

        One was using a fake id idiot. Try reading without your “gotta find a reason this DEMONIZES LEO!!!!” derangement in place

        The other charge was failing to appear

        If pot were just LEGAL in the puritanical dump she found herself in, she’d have ZERO charges.

        Get bent

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    1. C’mon…the guy gets publically fired and slammed on air by Leo to the point he has to make a video giving his side of the story, drops off the face of the earth for two years and then passes away. It doesn’t take a detective to see some kind of correlation

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      1. It’s easy to be consumed by depression, no doubt. I wish he had been able to keep moving forward with is career.

        Why did he stop doing podcast guest appearances in late 2012?

        If only he’d seen what Tom did and launched a Patreon, I think many of us would have supported him.

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      2. Except that didn’t happen. He did plenty of other work after that.

        For all you idiots know the kid had some congenital heart issue and died of heart failure and the family is keeping it quite because they don’t feel it’s anyones business.

        But keep speculating like morons

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  24. Wow!

    I’m really sad to hear of Erik’s passing. I’ve always wondered what happened to him. He was very talented. I google for him a few times but always came up empty handed.

    Makes one wonder what might have been.

    R.I.P. Erik.

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  25. “You can’t put somebody on live radio, national live radio, who doesn’t have the discipline to hold his tongue.” — Leo Laporte on Eric Lanigan, 27 Nov 2011.

    What irony.

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  26. That quote by Leo frustrates me so much.

    It’s so obvious that he knew that if Premier Radio Networks let Erik guest host, Erik would pretty much be a shoe-in for a permanent spot. And it’s clear that Leo’s ego wouldn’t let that happen. So instead he finds an excuse to get rid of Erik and then pretend like he knows what’s best for the audience.

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        1. Actually, I seem to remember that Léo said he was pitching Premiere on the idea of having Erik guest host.

          How much of that was true, and how well that pitch was going, well, your guess is as good as mine.

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  27. If the reports are accurate, Erik checked out a damaged person.

    I am sad and curious, because it would appear that Erik left us right about the time that TWiT started having problems booking quality guests.

    So, what if the owner black-balled Erik? In a relatively small industry where one’s professional fate would be sealed?

    And when said guests learned of Erik’s untimely death decided to quit TWiT?

    It would explain a lot of TWiT 2014.

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    1. I say this with all respect and love for the departed, but you’re overestimating his recognition and fame outside of us die hard fans.

      If Erik’s departure had that kind of sway with potential guests, they would have just hired him or helped hook him up with a gig.

      Erik himself stated that he was still trying to make a name and get know/get out there.

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      1. I think you might be underestimating Leo’s pull in the tech world too. Imagine having Leo going around calling you an A-Hole for associating with Erik. I think people like Andrew Zarian and the dudes at Bagel Tech might have a little more insight into where he disappeared too.

        I asked Andrew once and he was vague saying Erik moved back home and completely disassociated himself from the internet for unknown reasons. Sounds like the guy might have gotten depressed and wanted to have nothing to do with anything anymore. But that is just guessing.

        Erik worked REALLY hard. He was trying hard to make a good quality show for Leo. And Leo just shat all over him. Literally pulled his pats down and shat on his head. All because he wanted to grow is capitalistic bullshit tech company. Instead of growing new talent he got greedy and chopped it out. It is completely evident that Leo does NOT want anyone more talented than him on the network. Look at the frigging hosts past and present.

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        1. you do know what the word “literally” means?

          you’re saying Leo actually removed his trousers and defecated on Eric’s head

          did anyone happen to catch it on a drop cam?

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          1. Yup, and I think Leo actually did do it…

            Lol, figure of speech to emphasis my point … I am just so upset about hearing about this news. I honestly was a huge fan and waiting patiently for his return. No joke.

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        2. “I asked Andrew once and he was vague saying Erik moved back home and completely disassociated himself from the internet for unknown reasons.”

          =============

          Ah! I figured as much, considering his family is in Florida, right?

          So the picture that gets painted is quite clear – he heads out west, looking for some sort of hosting/radio/etc. gig he is good at – encounters Leo – hits the ball out of the park on his first try — gets pumped up by Leo and everyone for months….and then is quickly dismissed and verbally badmouthed by the owner and CEO of the largest tech podcasting company.

          The personality attack is so devastating, Erik basically has to make his own website show in great detail how he was not the guy Leo claimed he was.

          From there on out, he had a few small gigs here and there, but basically no one would hire him. TWiT had effectively blackballed him in the very small industry.

          So, he went back home, where his lawyer Dad lives (successful people often put pressure on children to be just as successful) and a year later he ends it.

          Sounds EXTREMELY plausible to me.

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          1. Nearly – only part of the story you’re missing is that he moved out to Petaluma because he had a full time job at TWiT. He was shipped out because of Jason Howell.

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          2. Indeed, he was an editor with Twit for a year+ before being promoted to TD on Tom’s new show.

            Of course, Tom then had Twit hire Jason for that job, and Erik was basically SOL.

            I don’t know if Erik was offered to move back to his previous spot as editor, or whether he was dropped outright.

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        3. One sign of depression is withdrawal. Wished there was tech folks closed to where his parents lived in Tampa, Fla. just maybe they could contact him. Close global proximity helps in some cases.

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  28. I wish he had been able to fully detach himself from his past and get out there.

    After 2011, I haven’t seen any evidence of TWiT talking about Erik. I think as fans we spent too much time talking about him in the TWiT chat to try and get a rise out of the mods and get booted, rather than helping Erik and supporting him in doing something new.

    I wonder if he even knew how many of us were waiting on his next move.

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    1. I am wondering if Leo was truthful in his AMA discussion.. He mentioned that there were lawyers involved in Erik’s departure. Perhaps Erik was barred from appearing. I would love to know the true story behind everything.

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      1. The fact that Leo even brought up what went down with Erik in a public manner shows how unprofessional the guy is. And then bringing up the fact that LAWYERS needed to be involved? He did the exact same thing with Tom and discussed it as well, along with Tom’s salary request.

        Leo knows exactly what he’s doing, and he purposely sets out to publicly shame/hurt the character of whoever did him wrong. He does it constantly.

        With Erik though, he took it extremely far, and I think the Erik stuff was the reason many of us started to raise our eyebrows at TWiT and wonder what the hell was really happening there.

        Normal companies don’t behave like that.

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        1. You’re right. It was the whole Erik business that made my opinion change on TWiT. Since then it goes further downhill by the week.

          There’s no shows that I feel engaged with now. They’re scraping the barrel with guests and shows hosted by the dregs of the podcasting field. Leo thinks the sun shines out of the arses of Padre and Mike when the reality is they have 0% talent . Obviously talent isn’t something they require in the TWiT interview process. As long as they’re cheap they’ll be hired.

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          1. You know I just re-read my comment where I said:

            “he purposely sets out to publicly shame/hurt the character of whoever did him wrong. He does it constantly.”

            …and I thought – I just described Jason Calacanis.

            No wonder those two liked each other. The are the same person.

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        2. Scott is a fucking moron.

          You’re like one of those idiots who has to go ‘teach somebody a lesson’ if a person mutters something under their breath or cuts you off in traffic and then you get your ass kicked.

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          1. I’m not teaching anyone a lesson. We’re on a stupid tech site talking about a stupid tech company. No one really cares what is said here. I’m here – like many others – because it’s either this, Reddit or random web surfing.

            Besides, even if Leo and crew are reading my words, I highly doubt it’ll change anything. And that’s perfectly fine – no one ever said I had all the answers or that I should be listened to.

            What pains me about TWiT (AND LEO) is that they used to be sooooo good. Such a great company and even a good host 99.9999% of the time! But then something happened (Brick house? Lisa? Advertising pressure? Increased bills? etc.) and the entire company seemed to change in about a year or so. The people there don’t seem to enjoy it like they used to and the people (as evidenced here) feel like they need to talk about it. Will it fix anything? I doubt it.

            People here need to stop getting so emotional over the pro-TWiT or anti-TWiT stuff being yapped about. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t…so if what I say rubs you the wrong way, just be like, “Oh, that moron is an idiot!” and ignore me.

            I highly doubt this site will even exist in a year, especially when summer comes around and we start doing stuff outside. These anti-TWiT sites seem to appear and disappear annually because people aren’t truly angry 24/7 and they get tired.

            So everyone? CHILLAX……………………………..

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          2. Scott:
            I’m not teaching anyone a lesson. We’re on a stupid tech site talking about a stupid tech company. No one really cares what is said here. I’m here – like many others – because it’s either this, Reddit or random web surfing.

            Besides, even if Leo and crew are reading my words, I highly doubt it’ll change anything. And that’s perfectly fine – no one ever said I had all the answers or that I should be listened to.

            What pains me about TWiT (AND LEO) is that they used to be sooooo good. Such a great company and even a good host 99.9999% of the time! But then something happened (Brick house? Lisa? Advertising pressure? Increased bills? etc.) and the entire company seemed to change in about a year or so. The people there don’t seem to enjoy it like they used to and the people (as evidenced here) feel like they need to talk about it. Will it fix anything? I doubt it.

            People here need to stop getting so emotional over the pro-TWiT or anti-TWiT stuff being yapped about. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t…so if what I say rubs you the wrong way, just be like, “Oh, that moron is an idiot!” and ignore me.

            I highly doubt this site will even exist in a year, especially when summer comes around and we start doing stuff outside. These anti-TWiT sites seem to appear and disappear annually because people aren’t truly angry 24/7 and they get tired.

            So everyone? CHILLAX……………………………..

            2020 and still here!
            RIP ERIK

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          3. Scott:

            I highly doubt this site will even exist in a year, especially when summer comes around and we start doing stuff outside. These anti-TWiT sites seem to appear and disappear annually because people aren’t truly angry 24/7 and they get tired.

            We have been here since 2014.

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  29. This is a sad thing if Erik has left us, at least on this planet.
    All of you posting shit…
    I HOPE MY epilogue READ by any of YOU
    Be it…
    analogy, bestman speech, Excuse for not picking me up, blame others for your BS, fucking my Ex!, dropping a dime, tossing friends or me under the bus, bashing something you love*
    …or in my case smashing the TV whenever DH#2 is on cable!
    IS BETTER THAN YOUR FUCKIN SNYDLY COMMENTS OF CRAP!
    (Except those of you posting neat stuff-UKNOWwhoUr)
    Erik was cool, I didn’t actually watch him much, but I liked it when I did.
    I remember him, as what he was, a pioneer in the early era of live video podcasting.
    Good Job kiddo!

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  30. Sad to hear this. I liked Erik. One of the highlights was watching Erik interview Woz, I saw that live. I also watched when Erik was excited about being in Steve Job’s bio by Walter Isaacson. I was hoping that Erik would have been able to bounce back from the unfortunate dismissal.

    It really sucks that Leo fires so much. I also like Leo, but to see this is unfold is disappointing. Now, I am concerned about Chad. I think he should be brought back full time. I like Chad’s enthusiasm and hope he is able to find another producer role while he works on his own minecraft show.

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  31. I think was pissed me off the most was the ‘who cares’ attitude by some in the TWiT IRC. It was asked after the finish of Friday’s TNT whether Erik’s passing was mentioned and ‘Rosco’ replies who cares, it was a year ago. When it was mentioned that for many this was their first hearing of this Rosco’s responses were just as cold and uncaring. Meanwhile many other chatters replied ‘what?’ and ‘I didn’t know that’ and ‘this is the first I’m hearing of it’ to deaf ears and of the TWiT army of lemmings.

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  32. soup gave an off air dismissal of his passing today on Tech Guy. Said he had not confirmed it and he really had nothing to comment on if he did know. He says he bought a drone which was delivered today, more $$$$$$ bragging , he seems to forget he is engaged to a drone, which he should fly into a mountain or nearest ocean…she is an evil bitch and I want Chad to watch his back….

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  33. It was mentioned only once above, but bears repeating due it’s being a major factor in Erik not finding employment elsewhere. While that video he posted after he was let go might have felt satisfying, it was career destroying. The industry knows Leo well enough to take whatever he might say with a grain of salt. It wouldn’t prevent someone from hiring him. But no one would be eager to hire someone who would put out a video like that should it not work out. That video was a bazooka that blew up in his face.

    I had hoped in time he be able to again find the work he wanted, or would at some point find patreon and get his own thing going. After enough time, I expected the sting would ease and he would return. RIP Erik.

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    1. ” While that video he posted after he was let go might have felt satisfying, it was career destroying. “

      If Leo and Lisa had never sabotaged that kid’s career in a grand fashion, there would have been no need for a video at all.

      And correct me if I’m wrong, but Leo and Lisa KEPT TALKING ABOUT ERIK ON AIR REPEATEDLY after he was let go – BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT ERIK’S VIDEO CONTENT WAS COMPRISED OF!

      Seriously, you’re deflecting blame from Leo and Lisa for Erik’s career issues?

      “The industry knows Leo well enough to take whatever he might say with a grain of salt.”

      And…how do you know this? What evidence do you have of this. We’re not talking of the Leo of 2014/2015 – we’re talking about the Leo of 2010/2011 – who was still very much the best example of what a tech pundit could be.

      Leo and Lisa decimated that kid’s career and he had no choice but to catalog Leo & Lisa’s abuse so his reputation wouldn’t look like he was behind its downward spiral.

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      1. I can speak to this directly.

        I didn’t know Erik personally but I recommended him to a buddy of mine for something I thought he was a good fit for. Regional TV gig.

        My friend Googled him, saw that video, and said no way. Didn’t need to hire someone who would be out to get him if things went south.

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      2. You don’t get it Scott:

        Whatever bad-mouthing TWiT did was on the live stream and buried in an archive somewhere. Potential employers didn’t see it and it didn’t come up when you searched for Erik’s name.

        If you Google Erik Lanigan that YouTube video HE posted appeared, higher than any clips showing what a talented and intelligent host he was.

        It is very sad that Erik couldn’t let go, because his video is what kept the past drama active. It would have been completely buried otherwise.

        And who has been blacklisted by TWiT? If you look at the guest booking woes and lack of invites to press events, you could even assume that TWiT has been blacklisted.

        To step outside of the technology realm, even Starbucks wouldn’t hire Erik if they Googled him and saw that video, because it screams whistleblower.

        It’s very sad to learn that Erik may have never moved on, because he would have had a very promising future if he’d just sucked it up and started over.

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        1. That logic is idotic and cold to imply a 22 year old kid is at fault for his career being destroyed by a 30 year veteran. There is a video of Brian brushwood talking bad about Leo too, I suppose his career is now ruined too.

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          1. Bingo David. These Leo defenders are trying to pass this off as Erik’s fault.

            Yeah, Erik made a video….BUT ERIK WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD TO MAKE A VIDEO IF LEO & LISA WERE PROFESSIONAL.

            So if some random regional TV guy doesn’t want to hire Erik, who gives a crap? Erik wasn’t out to become some lame news reporter for a pithy small time outlet. He aimed to be big in the tech community – certainly had the chops – and Leo & Lisa PURPOSELY derailed his entire career, for fear of being upstaged.

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  34. so sad.. Erik’s dad was proud of Erik at TWiT. https://twitter.com/DCLanigan/status/25503995542

    I am sick of hearing about Leo and Lisa. They are just greedy money grubbers. They milk the weak all so Leo can buy his weekly new tech gadget and fly overseas to stuff his face with pot pies. He is gross and that bitch destroyed the spirit of a young kid who only cared about doing a good job and making people happy. Makes me insane how people can continue to watch that lying pig. He is just gross and a complete fake.

    If the speculations are right about Erik, I hope Lisa and Leo can muster up enough guilt to actually feel an ounce of regret. Anyone that can continue to support Leo needs to have their head examined.

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  35. R.I.P. Eric.
    Did drama not catch the pre-show for iPad today where #Soup showed his back to camera and dropped trousers to show his under wear.
    Has this man no shame?
    He then tell ceho do show hers proclaiming they are the same.
    Great hey Padra…..

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  36. It was sickening to watch Leo day with such nonchalance that even it it were true he wouldn’t have much to say about it as he hadn’t “seen the guy in years”. What a prick.
    One IRC chatter remarked that this was a very cold response, and was promptly booted from chat for not being conducive to the desired atmosphere. Astonishing.

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    1. Whatever happened, Erik invested extensive time and energy to trash Leo in retaliation and you expect Leo to give a warm eulogy? That video was the start of organized TWiT bashing.

      It’s sad. Leo acknowledged it’s sad on Twitter.

      Do you think Erik would’ve said warm things about Leo if it were the other way around?

      We all love Erik but dont be delusional.

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      1. You are insane. Leo went live on his website, while millions of people were listening, and berated Erik. Effectively Destroying him. This is without even watching the Show to which he supposedly “went off” on Leo. Leo instantly believed his “Chat Moderators” nerdgasmic drama banter. Who the fuck reads chat logs other than Dorky Dan and whoever else moderates that cult festival. I would be interested in seeing how many people were in the chat room at the time. The only way it would go public is if the chat mods specifically pastebin’ed the chat for the world to read. IF they hadn’t, how many people do you think really would have cared or listened to the entire charade.

        Erik was instantly ruined by that Gluttonous Sloth, live in front of the world, simply because he was frustrated that he couldn’t get support to do better for Leo. It is irresponsible of Leo as a Boss and even as a father to hurt a young kid so badly. Fuck Leo and fuck you for even insinuating Erik did anything wrong trying to redeem himself while he was trying to start a career doing what he was absolutely passionate about. He was scraping trying to get a start. He couldn’t afford thousand dollar toilets like Leo. I again reiterate that the video Erik posted contained not ONE SINGLE WORD spoken badly about Leo by Erik. The entire video was completely acted by the lunatics at TWiT. They are mentally unstable narcissists. They don’t give a crap about you or any one of their minions.

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        1. “Leo went live on his website, while millions of people were listening,”

          One slight correction: the live stream probably has closer to 1,000 people listening–not 1,000,000–and my guess is 95% or so never discuss anything Leo says with anyone outside the TWiT IRC. The live stream and IRC are watched and populated by the same people all the time, and it’s an echo chamber.

          While TWiT might want you to think it has a national presence and some main-stream recognition… it really doesn’t. The natural reaction when you hear yourself being badmouthed on the network is to want to fight back, but you really need to fight that urge and let it go. Nobody cares.

          A bunch of people have moved on from TWiT and found success… even with Leo’s negative commentary… by simply ignoring it.

          Erik will definitely be missed. I wish we could rewind things and support him back when he needed it, and that he’d had advisors and mentors around who could’ve helped him out.

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  37. I’m extremely sad to hear of Erik death. He as so very talented and gifted.

    Usually an autopsy would have been performed. Does anybody know if autopsy results are public record? And if so, is anybody able to find it online to figure out the cause of death?

    Regardless of how he died, Erik was an amazing person that affected so many of us. He was a talented young reporter and journalist. We will miss you dearly, Erik…

      » Quote comment

    1. Not on line. Autopsy records are available from County Coroner’s offices in the jurisdiction where the death occurred. A FOIA request is probably necessary for a member of the public to receive one, and it’s subject to restrictive state laws which can exclude some or all of the documentation and results. I’m not sure I’d do that and release any information to the public, because of the distress it could cause for Erik’s family.

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        1. That’s a really big effort to do so. Maybe we can get an investigative reported to do an FOIA on the autopsy report. It’s Tampa County, right? Maybe Mark Millian can look into this for us.

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      1. That’s a really big effort to do so. Maybe we can get an investigative reported to do an FOIA on the autopsy report. It’s Tampa County, right? Maybe Mark Millian can look into this for us.

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  38. I heard that Leo and Lisa began actively attempting to get rid of Erik Lanigan because he was the editor of that infamous This Week in Google where the google voice sexts appeared on screen. The video of Erik complaining about the lack of a call screener really gave me the impression that he mean’t it would be great to have call screeners so he wouldn’t get calls like that one guy bitching about Leo and causing tension, of course he did not want to bash a supportive listener which would have got him in trouble too.

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    1. That’s completely untrue about the leaked convo on TWiG. Erik had already been fired from his job at TWiT in October 2010 and was only doing Late Night Tech at this point when the convo was leaked in October 2011.

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  39. Exploiting Erik Lanigan to try and score points against Leo is sick and an all new low. Shame on you those who are attempting to do so. Who cares what Leo thinks? A young man was taken from us tragically and it doesn’t change a damn thing.

    Respect his family’s wishes in keeping this matter private and stop speculating because you think it will help in your childish quest against a podcasting company most people haven’t even heard of.

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      1. Can’t we all just get along. LOL

        Have to agree though. Blame doesn’t matter now even if it was the cause. The dude was awesome. Family wants a little privacy regarding the matter. The death was obviously not expected.

        Keep it in mind that the people who loved and cared for him the deepest deserve the most respect.

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  40. I don’t care what anyone says but Leo’s treatment of this young man had to contribute to his demise. I’m not going to resort to name calling as some have done, however Leo’s uncaring dismissal of the news shows his lack of class. In Leo’s own words, “The public can spot a phony a mile away.” Leo has blood on his hands.

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    1. Isn’t it funny how Leo pretends like he doesn’t know much about this minor news, and yet he seems to know every detail about the story, including even the fact that Tom made a mention of it on his daily show?

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  41. I was thinking about this earlier. If Erik did take his life, the cops would have done some investigating. They would have looked on social media and internet to see if he had left any messages. and they would have found the Youtube Erik did with Leo and Lisa.
    If that was the case, the cops would have spoken to Leo and Lisa to see if they were still using the lawyers as this may explain why Erik might still feel down. ok, that means Leo would have known about Eriks death all this time. I watched Leo today say he wanted proof. This means Leo is the the biggest liar, and this is douchey . Or the cops never spoke to them at Twit.
    So I don’t believe leo any more and all those at the brickhouse. He is a liar. He should pick the phone up to Eriks dad if he cares and find out what happened for us fans. I got banned today just for asking what had happened by Houdini7. they are all douches and they are lying pretending they don know. RIP Erik man, we all loved you.

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    1. Not necessarily. If it was a clear cut suicide, if there was a note, and if Weik had a history of depression or another form of mental illness (all of which I suspect is the case), then the cops would have done little to no investigation. And an employer, a casual employer at that, 3, nearly 4 years before the death, would not have been on the list.

      Incidentally, if Leo covered this up, so did Tom, Shwood, the guy from the British tech show, and Chad. All of whom were twit employees or people the cops would have spoken to if they spoke to anyone, which i really suspect they didn’t.

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  42. You guys are nutcases, you really are. Anything Leo said on this matter (or any matter) would be shot down by you folks.

    Leo did the right thing here. He’s a national broadcaster, not some Internet dude. He has to get confirmation about such things.

    More seriously, assigning blame to Leo for his death shows a complete lack of understanding when it comes to mental illness. If it was mental illness that lead to Erik’s passing then there were many more factors involved than a firing 3 years prior to his death.

    Making sweeping statements about such things, with no real information at all, does a disservice to Erik, to those suffering from mental illness, and to those trying to treat mental illness.

    Sadly i suspect much of this, all the complexities of mental illness and suicide, will be lost in you…as long as you can kick Leo.

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    1. I don’t think anyone says there were no other factors. But it would be naive to think that his dismissal from TWiT, which really seemed to affect him personally to the point where his latest contributions online are centered around it, might have had a significant effect.

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    2. Jobsta…….. I also feel this post has deviated from the original story of eulogising Erik.

      Nevertheless, it seems this is the only medium available for fans to speak freely and vent their feelings – such as yours.

      It hasn’t helped that the moderators at TWiT have inflamed their fans by stifling and dismissing this as a irrelevant subject. Perhaps Leo as a distinguished journalist / writer & “a National Broadcaster;” and Erik’s former employer; should use some of these skills and reach out to the family to collaborate this sad story rather than dismiss it irreverently.

      With regards to Kevin’s above comments, I am sure after reflection you would agree that you have been extraordinarily insensitive and thoughtless to categorise people as “nutcase” – without actually knowing them. It is therefore also wrong for you to speculate that Erik might have had Mental Illness.

      As for your statement that “Tom, Shwood, the guy from the British tech show, and Chad ” may have also known – we have yet to find out. But; and here is the big BUT; they are not burying the heads in the sand and washing their hands of the sparse facts unlike Leo & TWiT. They have made a valiant effort through their professional organisation to get some information even though they hardly knew Erik like Leo did.

      If I look between the lines, what Kevin seems to be upset about, is Leo & co continuing to dismiss the story and “gagging” fans (like him) in the IRC.

      In summary, you are right in saying that fans are “assigning blame [to] Leo for his [Erik’s] death.” Unfortunately whilst there is a void of information, and Leo & Lisa continues to dismiss and anger fans, the speculation and the wrongful conclusions such as your attack will continue to sadly permeate the free press.

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    1. Ewen (of British Tech Network) said that he’s moderating messages for anything hurtful, but if people wish to leave their thoughts about Erik he will pass them on to Erik’s dad in due course in their entirety.

      Please, leave a message if you have memories or condolences to pass on.

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  43. Leo is a sickness. That was some cold commenting. He knew he had passed. The name was one of two Erik Lanigans in the United states. The parents name was associated with the deceased. The only possible error would be if he had the same name as a grandfather. That is why IAIB called a family member. Leo was fully aware it was legit. The self serving creature just used that “unconfirmed” nonsense to help his own cause. I am disappointed in everyone who works with him. Including Sarah, Jason, anyone you like there. Would it kill Leo to say a few nice things about him. Tha man is a disease.

    Leo’s fans and chat mods are just as bad. Anyone who supports this guy…….

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  44. sudo cat >> /private/etc/hosts << EOF
    127.0.0.1 twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 live.twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 wiki.twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 inside.twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 www.twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 irc.twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 webchat.twit.tv
    127.0.0.1 feeds.twit.tv
    EOF

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  45. So very sad to hear of Erik’s confirmed death.

    Based on LaPorke’s reaction, I am sure that he knew of this a year ago. Dude was callous enough to post on the page set up for memoria for Erik’s father to read. The nerve of the shameless.

    Right about now, LaPorke represents everything the world hates; uneducated (Yale drop out), entitled (kissed ass for xx yrs to pay his “professional dues”), and an adulterer (with his equal, a shameless whore).

    Karma can’t flush this turd soon enough.

    I mourn the loss of a true talent, Erik. RIP.

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    1. That is disgusting. Leo basically laughs off Erik’s “death” on live stream and says he’d “have nothing to say” even if it’s true, then pretends like he was so sad about the news. How did I go all these years without realizing what a phony this guy is.

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    1. Yes, his father re-married. I think it’s likely his Mom’s name was on a lease when he himself moved to Petaluma as the apartment “guarantor” – very common thing to do for recently-out-of-college students without a job (or steady job/enough hours/enough income) just yet, as a means to ensure the rent would be paid and often the parent helping out in the apartment search. Sometimes that parent can be living across the country.

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  46. All of the discussions about Erik I’ve heard in the last two weeks have strong implications of suicide and, if that is true, I can’t help but draw connections between that and the long period of having to cope with an utterly and unfairly destroyed reputation that he has had to try and overcome.

    While that is entirely speculative, just considering it as a possibility given what he had to deal with makes me feel really gross. Depressed. I barely knew the guy, but he seemed like he was really into his work and was destined to be big in podcasting and tech coverage.

    I wonder if Soup will even have the decency to express some form of condolence on the air.

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  47. Really sad, always liked this guy remembered his name and wanted to see which tech news show he was now fronting all these years later… really sad, such a talent this guy was awesome, imagine him now with patreon and youtube the way it is. such sad news…I know it’s been 5 years but I’ve only just realised he’d passed away.

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