On Wednesday, PBS announced that it is suspending distribution of its late-night talk show “Tavis Smiley” amid "credible allegations of sexual misconduct" waged against the host.

In a statement reported in Variety, the public broadcaster announced, “Effective today, PBS has indefinitely suspended distribution of ‘Tavis Smiley,’ produced by TS Media, an independent production company. PBS engaged an outside law firm to conduct an investigation immediately after learning of troubling allegations regarding Mr. Smiley. This investigation included interviews with witnesses as well as with Mr. Smiley. The inquiry uncovered multiple, credible allegations of conduct that is inconsistent with the values and standards of PBS, and the totality of this information led to today’s decision.”

In response to the allegations, Smiley took to Facebook and Twitter to refute the claims of misconduct saying, "To be clear, I have never groped, coerced, or exposed myself inappropriately to any workplace colleague in my entire broadcast career, covering 6 networks over 30 years," he wrote. "Never. Ever. Never."

From the mid-'90s to the early 2000s, Smiley was a prominent voice as an advocate in the black community lending political commentary on The Tom Joyner Morning Show, hosting the Annual State of the Black Union Conference, and landing a top spot on The New York Times Bestseller's List as author of the wildly successful book, The Covenant with Black America  (2006). In 2009, Smiley was named one of TIME's 100 “Most Influential People in the World.”

However, the 53-year-old talk show host, who gained prominence in 1996 as the host of the talk show BET Talk (later renamed BET Tonight), faced major backlash for what many interpreted as an over-zealous, personal opposition to then presidential candidate, Barack Obama. A fact that Twitter could not ignore upon news of his suspension.

Many saw his fall from grace as a cause to rejoice.

And perhaps even a national holiday.

While public opinion varies, Tavis Smiley has made it clear that he fully intends to "fight back" against sexual misconduct allegations.

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