For the second time this year, former WEEI host and current Barstool personality Kirk Minihane is taking a hiatus from his daily podcast to focus on his mental health.
His first sabbatical came at the start of March and lasted just over a week, but Minihane wrote on Twitter that he expects this layoff to be longer. According to the Barstool podcast host, his current bout with depression and suicidal thoughts is “as bad as it has ever been.”
This past weekend Minihane put on two sold out live shows at a drive-in movie theater in Saco, ME which attracted droves of fans. Now we know Minihane was dealing with serious mental health concerns while he spent the weekend putting on a show for the Minifans.
Minihane joined Barstool in May 2019 after previously serving as co-host on WEEI’s popular morning show Kirk & Callahan in Boston. His brash, unfiltered style helped Minihane build a very loyal fanbase on WEEI, later following him to Barstool.
Twice in 2018, Minihane stepped away from the WEEI morning show for mental health reasons. The first time coming in August, when he checked himself into Winchester Hospital after experiencing suicidal thoughts. Later that fall, Minihane declared himself healthy enough to get back on-air, but believed he was kept away from the microphone by management.
The popular morning host permanently left Kirk & Callahan that November, and later parted ways with WEEI’s parent company Entercom in May 2019, shortly before joining Barstool.
If you or someone you know is dealing with depression and thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. All the best to Kirk and his family as he works to get well.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
