Over the weekend, we learned that Crashing star and comedian Artie Lange questioned his job prospects after a recent drug arrest. Now, Lange claims that HBO officially fired him from the Pete Holmes comedy, though both network reps and producer Judd Apatow curiously deny it.

Lange was arrested two weeks ago for possession of cocaine, heroin, and drug paraphernalia, but subsequently released. The notoriously drug-using comedian subsequently took to Twitter to acknowledge the possibility of HBO cutting ties, and this Thursday claimed on radio show Len Berman & Todd Schnitt in the Morning that this was indeed the case (via PageSix):

Since this HBO show ‘Crashing’ premiered, which I just got fired from — I might go to jail. I’ve had a lot of success and a lot of happy times, but when I do the failure stuff … that’s all TMZ wants to talk about, and they get it out there and I lose my job. That’s what happens … [‘Crashing’] was the one time critics actually liked what I did. Well, that’s the last time you’ll see it.

On its own, that might not have been a terribly surprising choice for HBO, though both the network and Crashing executive producer Judd Apatow completely deny said firing:

HBO has not fired Artie Lange. Crashing has completed production for season one and has been recently renewed for a second season. Scripts for season two have not yet been written.

For his part, Lange … sort of … clarified matters over Twitter?

Already renewed for Season 2, the semi-autobiographical Crashing follows Pete Holmes as “a sheltered suburbanite who married his childhood sweetheart and dreams of making it as a stand-up comedian. But when he finds out his wife is cheating on him, Pete’s world unravels, forcing him to reevaluate his priorities and plunging him into the deep end of the rough-and-tumble New York comedy scene.” Also starring as themselves are Dave Attell, Hannibal Burress, T.J. Miller, Jim Norton, Rachael Ray and Sarah Silverman.

We’re inclined to think HBO and Apatow know what they’re talking about with regard to Lange’s current status, but in the meantime, Season 1 of Crashing continues on HBO, while Season 2 will likely air in 2018.

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