Most talk show hosts seem pleasant when the cameras are on — but it's a different story when
no one's watching. These TV hosts were completely different people when the cameras were off.
Tucker Carlson built one of the most loyal followings in Fox News history as the host
of "Tucker Carlson Tonight." The show launched in 2016, which was also the year that Donald Trump
won the presidency. As a result, Carlson's show became a major platform for the new president,
with Trump granting Carlson exclusive interviews throughout his time in office. However,
Carlson has been criticized throughout his career for his hateful commentary,
which included aspects of white nationalism.
"The combined membership of every white supremacist organization in
this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium."
In countless segments on his show, Carlson called for major changes to the government.
And according to The Guardian, some of these changes equated to fascism.
Carlson's heavy-handed commentary eventually led to his downfall. In 2023, the Fox star was
dropped without warning after the network lost a $787 million defamation case. Since then,
Carlson has largely existed as an online presence, with a new show that's streamed exclusively on X,
formerly known as Twitter. Carlson has pushed conspiracy theories on his new show,
including one segment where he claimed Barack Obama had a gay affair and smoked crack cocaine.
Thankfully for Carlson, even in exile he has remained one of Trump's favorite interviewers.
When the former president decided to skip the GOP primary debate in August of 2023,
he set up a simultaneous interview for himself on Carlson's X show. During Trump's appearance,
Carlson wildly claimed that the 45th president was an assassination target.
"So do you think it's possible that there's open conflict? We seem to be reaching towards
something." "I don't know, I don't know."
As the host of Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor," Bill O'Reilly was known for his fiery
monologues about the state of the nation, as well as his sneering interviews with various
political figures. By 2016, O'Reilly was the most popular host on Fox News,
and set the template for the network's firebrand style of news commentary.
So, few could have predicted the nature of O'Reilly's downfall. In 2017, The New York
Times reported that O'Reilly's team had spent tens of millions of dollars to settle various
sexual assault complaints made against the host. For his part, O'Reilly denied any wrongdoing.
"This was a hit job — a political and financial hit job."
But as Fox began hemorrhaging advertisers in the wake of the scandal, pressure grew
to remove the primetime star from the network. Finally, in April 2017, the network released
a statement that said O'Reilly would "not be returning" to the Fox News Channel.
Charlie Rose had been a constant figure on American television for decades by the
time his fortunes changed. By late 2017, the #MeToo movement had gained considerable steam,
particularly after the deluge of sexual assault accusations against Hollywood mogul Harvey
Weinstein. In November 2017, The Washington Post published an exposé in which eight women claimed
Rose had sexually harassed them. The encounters reportedly occurred between 1994 and 2011.
A day after the story was published, CBS News announced that Rose had been fired from the
network. A once-familiar face in New York's popular restaurants, Rose has since retreated
to his sprawling home in Bellport, New York, and is only rarely seen in public. The day after The
Washington Post story was published, Rose's former colleague Gayle King said on "CBS This Morning":
"I am not OK ... what do you say when someone that you deeply care about has
done something that is so horrible? I'm really grappling with that."
In November 2017, Matt Lauer, the long-running co-host of the "Today" show, was fired by NBC.
"As I'm sure you can imagine we are devastated and we are still processing all of this."
Lauer's abrupt firing came after an internal investigation following a complaint from a
female colleague. Variety later published an exclusive feature that claimed Lauer had
sexually harassed multiple female colleagues. According to the piece, Lauer had allegedly
exposed his genitals, made lewd remarks, and, in one incident, bought a co-worker a sex toy.
Then, in 2019, investigative journalist Ronan Farrow published his book "Catch and Kill:
Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators." In the book,
Farrow shared testimony from Lauer's former NBC colleague Brooke Nevils,
who claimed that the "Today" star had raped her. Lauer later admitted publicly to having
an extramarital affair with Nevils while covering the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but said
that all physical contact was consensual. Farrow's book also claimed that Harvey Weinstein used his
knowledge of Lauer's sexual misconduct to keep stories about himself from being broadcast.
In America, Piers Morgan is known as a one-time judge on "America's Got Talent," and as the former
host of CNN's "Piers Morgan Live," which was dropped from the network in 2014. Before his
TV career in the states, however, Morgan had a remarkable and controversial career as a print
journalist in his native UK. It was there that he made a name for himself at the age
of 28 by becoming the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. While
Morgan's unorthodox editorial style meant that he was able to supply his readers with bombshell
stories day after day, he gained a reputation for bending rules and ignoring journalistic standards.
For instance, Morgan attempted to purposefully smear rival journalists,
including Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, with whom he had clashed on the British
TV show "Have I Got News For You." In his newspaper, Morgan advertised openly for
people to contact him with any dirt they had on Hislop that might cause him embarrassment.
But worst of all are claims that Morgan oversaw the systematic phone hacking of
public figures to uncover stories. As of 2023, an investigation is ongoing into how much Morgan
knew about the hacks on major celebrities, as well as the families of murder victims.
"I've never hacked a phone. I've never told anyone to hack a phone."
Don Imus, who died in 2019, set the template when it came to over-the-top radio broadcasting. During
the decades his widely syndicated show, "Imus in the Morning," was on the air,
Imus' unpredictable style never wavered. However, the broadcaster seemingly showed
his true colors in 2007, when he used a racial slur to refer to the Rutgers University women's
basketball team. Imus apologized, but for his critics, that wasn't enough.
Imus was often compared in the later part of his career with Howard Stern, a fellow radio
"shock jock." However, when Imus' career seemed ready to implode, Stern condemned Imus. On his
radio program, Stern discussed Imus' history of using racist language, telling his listeners,
"If there's a blackened core of a human being, that's Imus."
He then suggested Imus' popularity with the public was exaggerated. Nonetheless,
Imus was back on the air within months.
David Letterman became a huge cult figure following the debut of NBC's "Late Night with
David Letterman" in 1982, and one of the biggest names on late night after his move to CBS in 1993.
Letterman was known for his ironic sense of humor, and was also an acerbic interviewer.
In 2009, however, Letterman's bad behavior came to light when it was revealed that he
had been having affairs with young women on his staff. Letterman came clean by admitting
to the affairs on his show, and also apologized to both his wife and the women involved. At the time
the scandal broke, Letterman received far more support than criticism. But, as noted by Vice,
his behavior appears deeply problematic in retrospect, particularly because he
practiced sexual favoritism by promoting the women he had liaisons with.
As the current host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," Jimmy Fallon maintains a consistently
cheerful tone in nearly every interview and segment. But a 2023 bombshell report
in Rolling Stone magazine tells a different story, suggesting that Fallon is a completely
different person off camera, especially when interacting with his coworkers. In the piece,
journalist Krystie Lee Yandoli shared the testimony of two "Tonight Show" staffers
and 14 former employees, who claim that Fallon is a difficult and erratic star.
Though the show has remained a runaway success since Fallon took over in 2014,
those interviewed claimed that "The Tonight Show" has a toxic work environment, with much of the
tension dependent on the type of mood the star is in. Outsiders have pointed to the turnover
of nine showrunners in as many years as evidence of the chaos. One interviewee told the magazine:
"Nobody told Jimmy, 'No.' Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners. [...] You
never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw
a hissy fit. Look how many showrunners went so quickly. We know they didn't last long."
Rolling Stone later reported that Fallon had since apologized to those involved.
"The Ellen Degeneres Show" began airing in 2003, and was notable for being as friendly
as it was funny, with "be kind" being the show's recurring mantra. However,
the show received an unexpected blow in 2020, when BuzzFeed News reported that
the atmosphere of kindness promoted on screen wasn't present when the cameras were off. The
outlet alleged that DeGeneres and her show's producers did nothing to address a toxic work
environment that negatively impacted the mental health of several staffers.
DeGeneres later apologized on air, but the show lost viewers and never fully recovered. In 2022,
"The Ellen Degeneres Show" came to an end after 19 seasons.
Since he previously worked as a surgeon, it seemed to many that Dr. Oz's medical advice
was grounded in reality. That said, as "The Dr. Oz Show" grew in popularity in the 2010s,
the blessing of "America's Doctor" could make or break a particular drug or treatment,
whether studies backed up its efficacy or not.
But even in the early years of Oz's public life,
medical experts began sounding the alarm over his willingness to promote quack treatments,
such as homeopathy and the intervention of psychics. Meanwhile, Scientific American has
condemned Oz as a purveyor of pseudoscience and misinformation, who is more interested
in making a profit than helping people. The magazine notes that some of Oz's cures, such
as his suggestion of taking hydroxychloroquine to combat COVID-19, are actively harmful.
In the early years of his career, CNN's Don Lemon was lauded for the quality of his
reporting. But Lemon's career took a hit in February 2023 that he never recovered
from. While co-hosting "CNN This Morning," Lemon claimed that Republican presidential
candidate Nikki Haley was no longer "in her prime," even though Haley was 51 at the time.
"Nikki Haley isn't in her prime."
Lemon then went on to pronounce that a women's "prime" years were their twenties, thirties, and
forties. Lemon's comments quickly drew outrage, resulting in his absence from the next day's show.
But the bad press against Lemon only got worse, and in April 2023, Variety ran a
story detailing numerous problematic incidents from throughout his career,
particularly acts of aggression toward women. In one instance, Lemon was accused
of sending threatening text messages to his former CNN co-anchor Kyra Phillips.
Shortly after the Variety piece was published, CNN announced that Lemon had been fired. However,
since Lemon still had three years left on his contract,
it's believed he will still receive a substantial payout from the network.
The British comedy actor James Corden was a respected stage and screen performer in the
early 2000s, but only made a huge splash in the U.S. when he became the host of "The Late
Late Show" in 2015. Under his stewardship, the show maintained the silly style that
viewers had grown accustomed to, and segments such as "Carpool Karaoke" often went viral.
In 2022, Corden announced that he would be leaving the show in 2023 to spend more time with
his family. However, the announcement coincided with a seismic reputational shift for Corden.
In recent years, lurid stories about Corden's offscreen behavior began shaping how the public
perceived him. One in particular, in which the owner of a popular London restaurant accused
Corden of being an "abusive customer," spread across the internet like wildfire. Corden was
also criticized as being "difficult" by a former colleague, according to The News International.
"Infowars" owner and host Alex Jones has always been on the fringe when providing discourse
on current affairs. Still, the far-right conspiracy theorist was once accepted by
his audience. As strange as it seems now, Jones was previously featured in the Richard Linklater
film "Waking Life," and would occasionally be the opening act for comedian Doug Stanhope.
But in the years since, Jones' anti-establishment shtick has gone from seemingly harmless
to downright vile. That said, the most headline-worthy of the unfounded claims he has
made on "Infowars" concerned the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. According to Jones,
the shooting, in which 20 children were killed, was staged by the government.
"You know it has now come out that, um, it was a government program."
Jones went on to say that the shooting was the first phase in a secret plan by the government
to separate Americans from their guns. Jones also claimed that the parents of the murdered
children were crisis actors who were complicit in the sham, which was, of course, another lie.
But Jones' lies were more than just sensationalized headlines for his hardline
viewers — they also led to dangerous real-world consequences. As the families of those who died at
Sandy Hook would later attest, the conspiratorial nonsense that Jones repeatedly spouted led to them
being the targets of harassment, abuse, and death threats. The affected families subsequently sued
Jones for defamation and won. The "Infowars" founder now has to pay nearly $1.5 billion
in damages to the families of the Sandy Hook victims. Jones has since filed for bankruptcy.
The name Jeremy Kyle isn't particularly well known in the U.S. But ask any Brit,
and they will tell you that Kyle is known for a trashy form of daytime
programming that makes "The Jerry Springer Show" look lighthearted.
"The Jeremy Kyle Show" involved members of the British public discussing infidelity, betrayal,
addiction, and various other scandalous topics. However, the added appeal of the
show was Kyle himself, who would often chastise his guests for their moral failings. As a result,
"The Jeremy Kyle Show" felt less like public therapy and more like a kangaroo
court. The infamous show was a constant presence on British TV for many years.
But amid sustained criticism that the show intentionally courted participants' distress
for pure entertainment, tragedy struck when a former guest committed suicide. Accounts of
mistreatment by the show's producers, and news of another death related to the show, convinced the
broadcaster, ITV, to drop Kyle in 2019.
From the mid-1980s until he died in 2021,
the conservative radio broadcaster and commentator Rush Limbaugh enjoyed a huge following. Toward
the end of his life, he mingled with some of the biggest figures in the Republican party,
including President Trump, who awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020. But,
not everyone agrees that Limbaugh was a worthy voice in American public life.
Numerous critics have characterized the talk radio host as sexist and racist. One particularly
egregious moment in Limbaugh's career occurred in 2012, when he decided to attack Sandra Fluke,
a student at Georgetown Law. Fluke, a campaigner for women's rights, had advocated for easier
access to contraception for students. In response, Limbaugh called her several slurs before adding,
"She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception."
"This is historically the kind of language that is used to silence women."
However, even some conservative commentators admitted that they were uncomfortable with the
effect Limbaugh's legacy had on the political right. Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh
told NPR that he blames Limbaugh for normalizing misinformation in the Republican Party, stating:
"Rush Limbaugh began this. Rush Limbaugh's legacy,
sadly, because he was immensely talented — but his legacy will be primarily lying to his audience."
Tyra Banks is undoubtedly a big personality. Banks' charm and charisma were responsible
for the "The Tyra Banks Show" winning back-to-back Daytime Emmys in 2008 and 2009.
But the thing Banks is most famous for is "America's Next Top Model," which she created and
executive produced. The show was a network smash for both the United Paramount Network and The CW,
and remained a cult favorite after its 2018 finale. However, in recent years, former fans
have looked back at the show — and Banks' role in particular — and have been forced to re-evaluate.
Despite being a talent show, "America's Next Top Model" featured countless
moments in which Banks and the other judges criticized contestants for their weight and
sexuality. As reported by Business Insider, some alleged that Banks'
show also exposed contestants to unsafe working conditions and emotional trauma.
But perhaps the most damning episode in the ongoing backlash against "America's
Next Top Model" is the story of Angelea Preston, who had told producers she had
previously worked as an escort. Preston later sued Banks and the show, claiming that she
had been disqualified because of her past, though the suit was later dropped in 2018.
Furthermore, when old clips of "America's Next Top Model" took the internet by storm in 2020,
Banks took to X to apologize for the show's "insensitivity."
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault,
help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).