Veteran newsman Geraldo Rivera has a habit of making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
From scandalous selfies to life-threatening mistakes, we've read between the lines to
bring you the surprising and lesser known ups and downs involving this famous talk show
host-turned-reporter.
A major bust
Rivera is sometimes all talk, with little to back it up.
In 1986, he put his career and reputation on the line with a highly anticipated TV special
entitled The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults.
The program was a two-hour live event, broadcast to millions in 14 countries, promising to
reveal buried treasure in the basement of a Chicago hotel.
But as the show progressed, it became increasingly clear that Rivera may be taking audiences
on a wild goose chase.
When the vault was finally opened, all Rivera found was an old stop sign and several empty
gin bottles.
He'd promised critics that if he turned up empty-handed he'd sing a song, and, in the
end, had to close out the show with the first line from "Chicago" to save face.
Yikes.
“There was nothing in Al Capone’s vault, but it wasn’t Geraldo’s fault.
Doh!”
Taking a hit
Rivera isn't afraid to get down and dirty from time to time, though.
He was famously roughed up during a scuffle with white supremacists back in 1988, during
which he suffered a broken nose.
Despite his injury, he reportedly decided not to go to the hospital because he had two
more shows to tape.
He also declined to press charges, claiming, ”I do not want to be tied up with the roaches."
Well, that's an interesting way to look at it.
Foot-in-mouth disease
Rivera's big mouth landed him, and American troops, in hot water during his coverage of
the Iraq War in 2003.
While covering the conflict for Fox News, he gave away his exact location on television
while embedded with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.
His decision to share sensitive information endangered the lives of Rivera and everyone
in the military unit, so Rivera was escorted out of the combat zone and dropped at the
Kuwait border.
“Stephen, what can you tell us though about Geraldo’s falling out with the military
because of this?”
“Simple, Jon.
He’s the only journalist out here who’s got the cojones to walk it like he talks it.
He can’t be constrained by concerns for the safety and security of men who have invited
him to join them at great risk to both themselves and their military objective.
If he gets everybody killed, so be it.
He’s not gonna p---- out.”
And that wasn't the only time his big mouth would get him into trouble …
Months after Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager in Florida, was gunned down by a
self-appointed neighborhood watchman in 2012, Rivera suggested the teenager's attire was
as much to blame as the gunman, adding that he accosted his own son, Cruz, for wearing
similar garbs.
“But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let
their children go out wearing hoodies.”
Rivera revealed that his other son Gabriel was "ashamed" of his dad's comments, but he
refused to back down from his statements.
In the buff
In July 2013, Rivera found himself on the wrong side of headlines once again, this time
for an eye-opening selfie.
The newsman posted a half-naked bathroom snap, which instantly made the rounds on social
media.
The steamy picture showed Rivera standing in the bathroom mirror holding a white towel
over his man parts.
His chest is exposed and hair combed back, with a caption that read, "70 is the new 50."
Rivera's reason for posting the racy image?
He'd apparently had too much tequila one night, and, left to his own devices while his family
was asleep, he thought posting the pic was a grand idea for some strange reason.
Wedded hiss
Geraldo's views on marriage have also been condemned by the public.
Rivera, who's been married a whopping five times, once claimed that women have little
to offer in relationships because, he said, quote:
"Generally speaking, the man is the breadwinner, although now, increasingly, women do work
… But I think what a woman brings to a marriage more than anything else — to a relationship
— is her youth.
Her youth is a fragile and diminishing resource so if a woman were to invest two years in
one of these marriages, and then to be rejected by the man, I think she has given up a valuable
asset."
End quote.
Rivera's comments stirred up a hornet's nest of drama between the sexes, and when he took
to Twitter to clarify his message, he only dug a deeper hole by writing, quote:
"I stand by that statement and defy anyone to contradict the substance of my remarks…Of
course women bring other vast assets to relationships.
Still, age weighs unequally on the sexes.
Time is money ladies, a precious asset.
Don't waste yours on a man who gains everything in Beta BS."
End quote.
What a guy.
Love him or loathe him, Rivera's life is as exciting as a daytime soap opera.
There's never a dull moment when it comes to him, and he's certainly not afraid of controversy.
There's no doubt he'll continue to simultaneously report the news and make the news with his
outspoken antics.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!