Not quite - the talk was always a keynote, and that was agreed on by all. The author was told he'd been nominated to give a keynote, and agreed to do so. He does say he had "attempted to weasel out".
Later, for very unclear reasons and in a poorly communicated way, it was downgraded to a regular talk. The author is incredibly offended by both the act and the lack of direct communication about it and wants nothing to do with the organizers or conference any more.
I still fail to see how that caused all that drama. That "poorly communicated" way must have been horribly bad?
Sure that internal disorganization might seem unprofessional, but that's a thing to shrug off. I assume it was more about thephds ego and maybe perfectionism, which got hurt and triggered an irrational response.
Later, for very unclear reasons and in a poorly communicated way, it was downgraded to a regular talk. The author is incredibly offended by both the act and the lack of direct communication about it and wants nothing to do with the organizers or conference any more.