Geraldo Rivera Announced He's Leaving Fox News: "I've Been Fired From 'The Five'"
Published June 30 2023, 10:37 a.m. ET
On June 21, 2023, political commentator Geraldo Rivera announced his departure from Fox News' popular show, The Five. He tweeted, "My last scheduled show appearances are Thursday and Friday, June 29th and 30th. It's been a great run, and I appreciate having had the opportunity. Being [the] odd man out isn't always easy."
The longtime Fox News correspondent-at-large reassured his followers that he would remain with the network, but a week later, Geraldo dropped a major bombshell: He was fired from The Five. As a result, he quit Fox News.
Read on for all the known details.
Why was Geraldo Rivera fired from 'The Five'?
On June 29, a little over a week after announcing his departure from The Five, Geraldo offered more details in a video shared on Twitter. While on a boat off the coast of Jones Beach, the former Geraldo host revealed that after 23 years, he quit Fox News because he'd been fired from The Five.
"So it doesn't look like I'm gonna be on The Five," he said before correcting himself: "I mean, I'm not gonna be on The Five. I've been fired from The Five, and as a result of that, I quit Fox. I'll have more to say about that on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning."
Geraldo spoke with The Associated Press and cited a "growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences" as well as "personal annoyances and gripes" as the reason for his exit. The journalist added, "I'm 80 years old, I don't want the friction. The Five is too intimate a place, and it gets too personal."
Wait, was Geraldo Rivera also fired from Fox?
As previously stated, Geraldo quit Fox; he wasn't fired. However, the network issued a statement on Thursday, June 29, and said: "We reached an amicable conclusion with Geraldo over the past few weeks and look forward to celebrating him tomorrow on Fox & Friends which will be his last appearance on the network."
During his final appearance on Fox & Friends, Geraldo reflected on his decision to leave the network.
"I feel so verklempt already," he expressed. "I am leaving Fox, my dear friends. I was fired from The Five, so then I said, 'I might as well resign totally,' and I quit. And today is my last day. But I want to leave not thinking about those things; I want to leave thinking about how wonderful everyone has been to me. ... We have shared so many experiences."
He then reflected on his two-decade-stint with Fox News, recalling how [Former Fox News chairman and CEO] Roger Ailes allowed him to be a war correspondent when his previous company wouldn't.
"Life takes you strange places, but it established a relationship with Fox that people would not ordinarily think of as a natural relationship because of political ideologies and so forth — me being more on the progressive side than many of my colleagues — but it worked out."
Geraldo continued, "Everybody was open-minded, open-hearted... I was treated as a family member here, and I hope it was reciprocated. There are ways to work as colleagues, and then there are ways to work as family, and I really do think that we became family."
The segment concluded with a montage chronicling Rivera's decades-long career in broadcasting and a series of pre-taped goodbyes from members of the Fox News community.
