Britney Pranksters Fired

By Stephen M. Silverman

06/20/2001 at 11:46 AM EDT

Kramer and Twitch, the two radio deejays who sparked a national panic last week when they hit the air with phony reports of a fatal L.A. car crash involving Britney Spears and her boyfriend, 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake, were fired on Monday, a spokesperson for their station's owner announced Tuesday. The reports surfaced on the team's Dallas hard-rock station, KEGL-FM, on June 12. Spears's publicist was subsequently deluged with press inquiries on the status of the pop star, who, along with Timberlake, were pronounced to be "in great health," according to a statement released June 13. Kramer and Twitch's real names are Keith Kramer and Tony Longo. Kramer told the Dallas Morning News that he and his partner were surprised by their station's decision, because, he said, "We got permission to air the bit." As for why they would perpetrate such hoax, Kramer said that he and his partner had doubted that any of Britney Spears's fans listened to a rock station like KEGL.