From conspiracy theories to shameless affairs to way too much sexual misconduct,
these news anchors became part of the news themselves — for all the wrong reasons.
In November 2017, NBC fired Matt Lauer, putting an end to a 20-year career with
the network. In a company-wide memo, NBC News chairman Andrew Lack revealed that
the termination was prompted by a sexual harassment complaint filed against Lauer
by a female co-worker. Despite acknowledging that it was the first time receiving such a complaint,
Lack also admitted that they had reason to believe it had happened before.
It was later reported that at least 10 women who were either former or current
employees were alleging similar encounters with Lauer. As one former NBC producer said,
"There were a lot of consensual relationships,
but that's still a problem because of the power he held."
While Lauer expressed regret for his actions and the damage he caused,
he also claimed that not every allegation was completely accurate. As he put it,
"There is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed [...] Repairing the
damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I'm committed to beginning that effort."
In April 2023, the media landscape was thrown into a frenzy when longtime CNN
anchor Don Lemon was fired. The journalist released a statement in which he expressed
shock over his termination, as he claimed that his network blindsided him during the
entire process. But CNN rebutted the longtime host's claims and accused him of boycotting a
previously arranged dialogue. According to a tweet from the network's PR team,
"[Lemon] was offered an opportunity to
meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."
Despite CNN offering no public explanation for Lemon's termination,
many people speculated that it was prompted by a sexist comment he made
about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley a couple of months prior.
"Nikki Haley isn't in her prime,
sorry. When a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, and 30s, and maybe her 40s."
Though Lemon later publicly apologized to Haley,
that incident and other discriminatory remarks are presumed to have influenced his termination.
Tucker Carlson sure knows how to stir up a scandal. So when he was dismissed by Fox News
in April 2023, it was somewhat surprising, though perhaps not the most shocking development ever.
The abrupt termination happened a few days after Fox Corporation paid $787.5 million to
Dominion Voting Systems as a settlement for the defamation lawsuit filed by the
ballot technology company back in March 2021. Carlson was among the Fox hosts
listed to have made defamatory allegations suggesting that Dominion had manipulated the
results of the 2020 presidential election. While this is believed to have contributed
to his dismissal from the network, he also had a few other negatives to contend with.
Before his termination, Carlson faced backlash after attempting to portray the
January 6 insurrection as a peaceful protest. And at the time of his dismissal, he was also facing
allegations of discrimination in a lawsuit filed by former Fox producer Abby Grossberg,
who accused Carlson and others of making frequent misogynistic comments and anti-Semitic jokes.
Good Morning America co-hosts TJ Holmes and Amy Robach made national headlines
in November 2022 after it emerged that they were in a romantic relationship. At the time,
they were both married to other people. As a source divulged to Entertainment Tonight,
"Their relationship has been going on in secret for quite some time,
but how long is truly unknown, as they did their best to keep things professional and private."
"We're all lucky to be here, and we're excited about another year."
ABC president Kim Godwin announced that the affair was not a violation of the network's policy,
though she did describe it as a distraction. Holmes and Robach were subsequently taken
off their roles at GMA as the network conducted an internal investigation.
Things took a turn in January 2023 when Holmes' alleged past office romances,
including one with a former ABC intern, came to light. As reported by the Daily Mail, that intern,
Jasmin Pettaway, looked up to Holmes for mentorship, but she ended up in a sexual
relationship with him that left her feeling used. According to a source who knew Pettaway,
"He was a predator who took full advantage of his position, and he was reckless."
Meanwhile, TMZ reported that Robach was accused of violating ABC company
policy by keeping alcohol in her dressing room. In January 2023,
both she and Holmes were dismissed from the network following a mediation session.
In November 2021, CNN suspended longtime host Chris Cuomo. This was in the wake of documents
being released by the New York attorney general's office confirming that he used
his media connections to help his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,
navigate a sexual harassment scandal. By doing so, he reportedly violated CNN's journalistic
code of conduct. He responded by describing the situation as embarrassing but expressed
an understanding of why it had to be done. As he put it in on his radio show Let's Get After It,
"The last thing I ever wanted to do was compromise any of my colleagues or do anything but help."
In December 2021, following the completion of an internal investigation,
CNN announced that they were severing ties with Cuomo. In response,
the journalist expressed disappointment over the turn of events but added that he
remained proud of his achievements with the network. As he put it on Twitter,
"This is not how I wanted my time at CNN to end but I have
already told you why and how I helped my brother."
"I acknowledged it was a mistake. I apologized to my colleagues, and I stopped, and I meant it."
In July 2018, Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned from Fox News — just one
year after renewing her contract with the network. It was later reported that
she was forced to leave following allegations of inappropriate behavior. As reported by HuffPost,
she's been accused of sexual misconduct, which ranged from having explicit sexual conversations
to showing off personal photographs depicting the private parts of her sexual partners.
But even after her exit, Guilfoyle's reputation at Fox News lingered. The network was forced to
pay millions of dollars in a settlement to a staff member who accused Guilfoyle of sexual
harassment. The assistant, who mostly worked at Guilfoyle's apartment, alleged that she often
walked around naked without the assistant's consent. Guilfoyle also allegedly asked her
assistant to sleep over and gave unsolicited sexual advice. Despite the damning allegations,
she denied any wrongdoing or misconduct during her time at Fox News. As she announced in a statement,
"In my 30-year career working for the SF District Attorney's Office,
the LA District Attorney's Office, in media and in politics, I have never
engaged in any workplace misconduct of any kind. During my career, I have served as a
mentor to countless women, with many of whom I remain exceptionally close to this day."
In 2016, veteran journalist Ed Henry found himself caught up in a scandal
after his months-long affair with host Natalia Lima went public. Henry,
who has been married to NPR’s Shirly Hung since 2010, met Lima in 2011, but the relationship
reportedly didn't turn sexual until four years later. As Lima divulged to InTouch,
"Whenever he was in town, we would pretty much just have sex. He has
a really high sex drive. We were friends for a few years before we did anything."
Amidst the scandal, Henry was suspended by Fox News. Only four months later, though,
he was back on the air. But despite getting a second chance, he soon enough found himself
in an even bigger scandal in 2020. In a company-wide memo, Fox News explained,
"On Thursday, June 25, we received a complaint about Ed Henry from a former employee's attorney
involving willful sexual misconduct in the workplace years ago. Ed was suspended
the same day and removed from his on-air responsibilities pending investigation.."
A few days later, Henry was officially fired from his position at the network.
After a long and successful journalism career, it all came crashing down for Charlie Rose
in November 2017. That was when The Washington Post published an exposé about sexual misconduct
allegations from eight women who formerly worked with him. The women accused Rose of touching them
inappropriately, making unwanted sexual advances, and walking in front of them while naked.
"We have 27 new allegations against Charlie Rose, and they span 42 years."
Shortly after the exposé was released, PBS and Bloomberg suspended the airing of Rose's
shows while CBS News announced his suspension. The next day,
PBS and Bloomberg officially severed ties with Rose, with PBS noting in an official statement,
"In light of yesterday's revelations, PBS has terminated its relationship with Charlie Rose
and canceled distribution of his programs. PBS expects all the producers we work with
to provide a workplace where people feel safe and are treated with dignity and respect."
Rose apologized for his behavior but maintained that some of the
allegations were untrue. As he put it in a statement on Twitter,
"I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that,
though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that
I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken."
In October 2017, ABC News host Mark Halperin was facing multiple sexual harassment allegations from
five women he'd previously worked with. They accused him of several incidents involving
inappropriate and non-consensual physical contact. As one former employee of ABC alleged,
"I went up to have a soda and talk and — he just kissed me and grabbed
my boobs. I just froze. I didn't know what to do."
One of Halperin's accusers, Lara Setrakian,
told her side of the story during an appearance on PBS NewsHour.
"What we experience at ABC and in many newsrooms goes beyond just a
physical attack. It's the comments that some people feel, some men feel, they can make."
Halperin was also accused of making sexual
advances to some of these women. He apologized in a statement that read,
"I did pursue relationships with women that I worked with,
including some junior to me. I now understand from these accounts that
my behavior was inappropriate and caused others pain. For that, I am deeply sorry."
But that apology wasn't enough to salvage the situation, as ABC fired Halperin just
a few days later. NBC News, where Halperin worked as a political analyst at the time,
also announced that it was cutting ties with him. In a statement published on Twitter,
Halperin acknowledged that he caused harm to his victims. As he put it,
"For a long time at ABC News, I was part of the problem. I acknowledge that, and I deeply
regret it [...] It caused fear and anxiety for women who were only seeking to do their jobs."
Lara Logan wasn't technically an anchor, but she was a fast-rising reporter for 60
Minutes who had her eye on the big network chairs. Her frontline reporting from Kabul,
Afghanistan and the Arab Spring uprisings put her on the map as
a fearless and ambitious journalist who went to extremes to land a story.
After experiencing a terrifying sexual assault in Tahrir Square, Logan thought she'd landed a major
scoop regarding the 2012 Benghazi attack. She relied heavily on the account of Dylan Davies,
a security contractor who claimed to have been present when U.S. Ambassador Christopher
Stevens and four other Americans were killed. She reported Davies' version of events on 60 Minutes,
but unfortunately, he told a vastly different story to the FBI and others,
which tainted his credibility. Logan later apologized on air and was subsequently asked
to take a leave of absence, though she returned to 60 Minutes six months later.
By 2022, Logan had pivoted from war correspondent to a right-wing pundit
of such outspoken radical opinions that she was even banned from making any future
appearances on the network Newsmax. She had developed a reputation for making controversial
statements in which she attempted to present racist conspiracy theories as solid fact.
This included suggesting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a stooge hired by the CIA.