Former Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera joined the ladies of ABC’s “The View” on Thursday and attributed his departure from the network to a “very toxic” relationship with a former “The Five” co-host.
30 June marked the conclusion of Rivera’s two-decade tenure as a correspondent and contributor for Fox News. The network presented him with a cake and a number of farewells and best wishes.
The high-profile departure followed months of tension with then-colleague Greg Gutfeld off-air.
On “The View,” the 79-year-old said he had a “very toxic relationship with another of the cast members” on “The Five,” but he declined to name any names.
Rivera stated that he never ideologically fit in at Fox News, but acknowledged that network executives attempted to find him a new program after it became clear he would no longer be a fixture on “The Five.”
He stated that he would not tolerate a demotion from the most-watched cable program.
“If you fired me from the No. 1 show, then I’m going to quit. And that’s basically what happened,” Rivera said.
Joy Behar asked Jesse Watters, in an apparent reference to him, if his adversary was “Smeshy Shwaters.”
Rivera chuckled as he dismissed the inquiry, but he left no doubt as to the gender of the coworker with whom his relationship had deteriorated.
“I thought it was very unfair that I was not judged objectively in our disputes, but rather he was always favored,” he eventually said.
When asked if the tension was with Jeanine Pirro, Rivera stated that he discovered and idolized the former judge. “Check the Internet,” he recommended.
After being fired from Fox News' 'The Five,' @GeraldoRivera tells #TheView exclusively he left the network because his "ideology does not fit Fox."
"If you fired me from the number one [Fox News] show, then I'm going to quit," he says he told executives. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/xmTjjsGfvr
— The View (@TheView) July 13, 2023
Rivera concluded that his departure from the network had been in the works for quite some time and that he is not angry with anyone.
More on this story via The Western Journal:
After Tucker Carlson was ousted by Fox News in April without any explanation to the public, Rivera and Gutfled traded barbs on Twitter. CONTINUE READING…
