After announcing his exit from one of the most viewed shows, The Five, Geraldo Rivera took to his Twitter to share that he was rather “fired” from the show.
Fans of the popular show have been speculating on Fox’s move behind this, as Rivera made it clear that his exit only came after the channel fired him.
Rivera, who had joined Fox News as a war correspondent in 2001, completed a successful 23-year with the broadcast channel. Earlier, the journalist had shared his regret about not leaving the news channel soon. Rivera said that he should’ve left the network after the killing of Osama Bin Laden. But why did Fox fire him now?
Why was Geraldo Rivera Fired from The Five?
Geraldo, in his interview with AP, revealed his growing tensions on the show with his other fellow co-hosts, citing it as a reason for his exit from the show. He also went ahead and took a jibe at the other panelists, saying that he was getting old and the frequent “friction” on the show was not going well with him.
On June 21, Rivera took to his Twitter handle to share with his fans his exit from the show. At that time, his tweet made his fans believe that his exit was pretty much voluntary. However, in the same tweet, Geraldo clarified that his move came after the channel fired him.
Viewers of the show The Five were also familiar with Geraldo’s growing spats with other panelists on the show. His growing on-air spat became more evident after he got into an argument with fellow co-host Greg Gutfeld. Rivera called him an “arrogant punk.”
The panel talk show also featured other conservatives, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, Jeanine Pirro, and Greg Gutfeld. Rivera, alongside Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., took turns to fill in as the fifth panelist of the show.
In the same interview, Geraldo told AP that Fox News, too, didn’t make any effort to retain him after he announced his exit. “I’ll have more to say about that on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning, thank you,” read Geraldo’s tweet. It was further made official by the news channel itself after they quoted-
“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.”
Will Geraldo Rivera Host The Five Again?
Speculating Rivera’s re-entry on the show seems to be on the difficult side for now, with Rivera and Fox News confirming his exit. Although Rivera has made it pretty evident in his previous interviews about his part on the show, the 80-year-old Journalist sounded less imperative on his continuing with the Five.
Although Geraldo blamed the broadcast channel’s hesitancy in trying to get him back on the show, he will still be associated with Fox till 2025 as a part of their ongoing contract. “There has been a growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences and personal annoyances and gripes,” Rivera told the AP. “It’s not worth it to me.”
Even in his time with Fox, Geraldo was suspended multiple times, after his on-air squabble with Gutfeld, in specific. The two even exchanged disagreements through their arguments on Twitter on multiple occasions. Geraldo’s last appearance on the show was on the 29th and 30th of June.
Did you watch Geraldo’s last appearance on The Five? Do you think the veteran journalist will be missed on the show? Or was Fox’s decision to fire him apt? Let us know your thoughts!
Source: Associated Press
