Jackson, Mich. (WKHM) — Steve Tucker, the former Executive Director of the Michigan Theatre of Jackson (MTJ), has released a statement of his own in response to the MTJ Board of Director’s press release.
In the statement, Tucker describes the press release from the Theatre as containing serious inaccuracies surrounding the termination of his employment.
Tucker says that he did not give the MTJ Board any formal or written notice of intention to retire in March, writing “it was my intent to continue for the next few years to ensure the stability of the Theatre and groom a successor who could continue to successfully lead the operation long into the future.”
Tucker also stated that there were members of the MTJ Board of Directors who wanted him ousted from his job, and were intent on making his life as Executive Director miserable, leading him to make offhanded comments about retiring out of frustration with the board wanting him out.
He also said that tensions had developed between board members and the management team in 2025 following changes in the board’s composition, saying that they included “questioning minor operational issues and picking disputes over inconsequential matters.”
On January 22, Tucker says he was given a letter terminating him from his position as Executive Director and instructing him to leave by the end of the day, coming as a total shock.
According to his statement, he learned of a planned meeting between major donors to the Theatre’s Capital Campaign with the Executive Committee of the Board to discuss concerns that was originally scheduled for January 19. That meeting was then cancelled by the Board Chair, who suggested meeting at a later date in February.
Tucker says that he was terminated, and did not resign nor retire as the MTJ Board claims, three days after that meeting with those who made the restoration of the Theatre possible was originally scheduled to take place.
Tucker described the state that the Theatre was in when he was first hired as Executive Director in 2012, being near bankruptcy and in danger of shutting down. He pointed out the hard work that he and his team, along with the Jackson community, had put in to restore the Theatre and make sure that future maintenance costs would be taken care of.
Near the end of his statement, Tucker thanked the people of Jackson and beyond who had offered and given support to the Theatre emotionally and financially, saying that he would have failed without them.
Tucker also expressed his sincere gratitude to the community for the support both on and outside of social media throughout the past few days.
