Like any major news outlet, Fox News has weathered its share of controversies and internal conflict
- some of which has resulted in the unceremonious exits of its most famous faces.
From serious allegations to behind the scenes drama, here are the real reasons these news
personalities left Fox News.
On July 20th, 2018, HuffPost reported that The Five co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle was forced
out of Fox after an investigation into allegations of misconduct.
Six separate sources told the publication that she:
"[Showed people explicit] personal photographs of colleagues, [...] [discussed] sexual matters,
[and was] emotionally abusive [to her] hair and makeup artists and support staff."
Guilfoyle's lawyer pushed back hard on this narrative in a statement that described the
accusations as "utterly preposterous" exaggerations made by coworkers for financial gain, accusing
these coworkers of, quote, "nefariously and greedily twisting innocent conversations amongst
close friends into much more than what it actually was."
As of 2019, it's still unclear exactly why Guilfoyle left the network, but the Daily
Beast claimed that Fox News staffers allegedly engaged in a, quote, "hostile whisper campaign"
against their former co-worker by inflating the details of the stories.
Carl Cameron spent over 20 years as a political correspondent for Fox News.
Dubbed "Campaign Carl" for his constant presence on presidential campaign trails, Cameron left
the network after the election of Donald Trump.
In an interview with CNN, he praised the news division at Fox, but admitted he had problems
with Fox's opinion hosts.
“The opinion hosts in prime-time and elsewhere on Fox had become more than I could stand."
In 2019, the veteran reporter launched the progressive website Front Page Live, and further
explained his decision to leave his former employer.
"I was one of Fox's first hires.
The idea of fair and balanced news appealed to me.
But over the years, the right-wing hosts drowned out straight journalism with partisan misinformation."
He called the spread of misinformation a "state of emergency," and promised that on his new
platform, he would stick to the facts leading into the 2020 election.
After twelve years at Fox News, journalist and news anchor Megyn Kelly called it quits
in 2017.
She told Ellen at the time,
"Donald Trump has a way of clarifying one's life choices.
Just as I was sort of wondering whether this was where I wanted to be and how I wanted
to live, the universe came and, sort of shone a light, and it was clear to me what I wanted
to do."
According to Business Insider, she called cable news primetime a hyperpartisan "snake
pit" in recent years, and she no longer wanted to be a part of that, explaining,
"I didn't want to be in the snake pit.
I just wanted to cover the news."
According to The New York Times, another alleged reason for Kelly's departure was Bill O'Reilly
- who was reportedly "forced out at Fox" after multiple claims of sexual harassment against
him.
O'Reilly slammed Kelly's memoir, which detailed her claim of being sexually harassed by Fox's
former chairman Roger Ailes, and told women who were coming forward with sexual harassment
claims against the network to, quote,
"Go to human resources or leave."
Kelly reportedly complained about O'Reilly's commentary to Fox higher-ups to no avail,
and according to sources who spoke with The Times, this was part of the reason she left
the network.
After 10 years on The View, conservative television personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck found a new
home on Fox & Friends in 2013 - but her time with the network only lasted two years.
In November 2015, an emotional Hasselbeck said on air that she was leaving to take a,
quote, "new position as CBO, Chief Breakfast Officer" for her family.
"I truly have been in the best hands and I'm so thankful, I have a heart full of gratitude
for this, this is an outstanding team who works so hard."
Hasselbeck eventually moved to Nashville, where she serves as co-host of the annual
K-LOVE Christian music awards show in Music City.
She told Tennessean in 2019,
"It feels like a soulmate city to me here.
Yes, there's great food and music in Nashville, but there's permission to be who you are and
to put others first."
In one of the most unexpected exits from Fox News, veteran journalist Shepard Smith shocked
the media world when he announced his decision to leave the network.
"So recently I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News.
After requesting that I stay, they obliged."
He also said that he wouldn't be reporting anywhere else anytime soon, per his agreement
with the network, so it's unclear, as of November 2019, where Smith will land next.
Known for his outspoken criticism of Donald Trump, thereby becoming a favorite target
of the president, Smith reportedly clashed with fellow network personalities Sean Hannity
and Tucker Carlson.
According to sources who spoke with the Daily Beast, Smith was done with being attacked
by his colleagues and asked to be released from his contract.
But the writing was already on the wall back in 2018 when Smith told Time,
"And I wonder, if I stopped delivering the facts, what would go in its place in this
place that is most watched, most listened, most viewed, most trusted?
I don't know."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.