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Fox News has been mired in controversy ever since its launch, with the cable news network’s slogan — “fair and balanced” — criticized for being anything but. In fact, a 2023 study concluded that Fox News wasn’t actually delivering news but a steady stream of misinformation deliberately, preventing viewers from becoming more knowledgeable about what was happening in the world. Variety columnist Michael Schneider even went so far as to suggest the network drop the “misnomer” of news from its title.

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Beyond what winds up on the air, Fox News has also seen plenty of behind-the-scenes turmoil. The numerous sexual harassment allegations that forced network founder Roger Ailes to step down was high on the list of Fox News’ biggest scandals ever, yet there have been many, many more. In fact, the bad behavior exhibited by some of the shadiest Fox News anchors led them to be fired, often in disgrace.

It would be easy to assume that being sacked over allegations of sexual harassment — and worse — would be enough to crater any career, yet that has rarely been the case for those shown the door at Fox News. For many of the former hosts listed below, being fired was simply a minor setback before landing a new gig with another conservative-leaning news outlet.

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Bill O’Reilly was the top-rated host of all cable news networks when he was fired by Fox News in 2017. O’Reilly was forced out when his shady double life was exposed. As The New York Times reported, he was let go following the revelation that he’d paid several women a collective $13 million to settle various claims of sexual harassment (all of which O’Reilly has continually denied). After his firing, The Guardian reported O’Reilly had agreed to pay a $32 million settlement to another accuser, which Fox News reportedly knew about prior to renewing O’Reilly’s contract. 

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Ousted at the very peak of his popularity — shown the door with a reported $25 million severance package — O’Reilly decided to strike out on his own via his website, with various levels of membership. As of this writing, the top tier (Concierge) costs just under $100 per year and includes email correspondence with O’Reilly himself.

O’Reilly also launched a podcast and webcast following his departure from the conservative network. In 2020, he returned to television as host of his own show — titled the same as his webcast and podcast, “No Spin News” — for the then-new conservative cable channel, The First TV. O’Reilly also continued to write books, with “Confronting Evil” slated for publication in September 2025. In early 2025, Fox News’ parent company purchased Red Seat Ventures, which hosts podcasts from the likes of Megyn Kelly, Dr. Phil (who’s also been accused of having a shady side), and O’Reilly, which led to a somewhat circular return to former network that axed him.

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After Bill O’Reilly’s exile, Tucker Carlson shot to the top, hosting the most-watched cable news show on television. However, it all came crashing down in April 2023. Carlson was unceremoniously given his walking papers, fired quickly with no chance to say farewell to his viewers.

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So where did Carlson stand with Fox News after his firing? Initially, Carlson began posting videos on X, racking up viewership numbers in the millions. Eventually, he took a route similar to O’Reilly’s, launching his own web venture, the Tucker Carlson Network, where he aired his own show. Carlson also conducted interviews, including one very controversial sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Carlson was hit with backlash for his softball, Russia-positive questions, letting Putin’s propaganda and lies go unchallenged. Even Putin called out Carlson for his weak interview. Appearing on Russian state television (via Politico), Putin said, “I honestly thought he would be aggressive and ask so-called sharp questions. And I wasn’t just ready for that, I wanted it, because it would have given me the opportunity to respond sharply in kind. … But he chose a different tactic.”

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Meanwhile, Carlson also found himself the subject of much mockery when he marveled about shopping carts that could be locked up with a coin in a Moscow supermarket — apparently oblivious to the fact that those carts are standard issue in many American supermarkets. In 2024, Carlson embarked on a 15-city speaking tour, and in 2025 he captured media attention when his testy exchange with Senator Ted Cruz regarding Iran went viral.

The untold truth of Ed Henry came to light when he was fired in the wake of a Fox News investigation looking into allegations of sexual misconduct. Just over a year later, Henry found another gig, this time hired by far-right political network Real America’s Voice in November 2021. Much like his stint on Fox News, his time with Real America’s Voice was rocky and ultimately ended in scandal as he was arrested in June 2023 and charged with DUI. While Henry avoided jail time with a plea deal, he and his “American Sunrise” co-host Karyn Turk (who was a passenger in his car at the time of his arrest) were both turfed from Real America’s Voice. 

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A couple of months later, Henry was hired by Newsmax, another right-wing cable news outlet. His hiring, however, stirred up a furor within the network. “How the hell does this guy have a job?” an anonymous Newsmax insider was quoted as asking (via Yahoo). Another Newsmax staffer told Mediaite, “This guy is a walking lawsuit. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hire him.”

Further controversy followed Henry when, in June 2024, Mediaite uncovered documents revealing that he’d been accused of sexual misconduct — namely sending sexually explicit text messages — by a younger female staffer during his time at Real America’s Voice. Nevertheless, Henry remains employed as an anchor at Newsmax, as of this writing.

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Eric Bolling is yet another Fox News anchor who was forced to hit the bricks due to allegations of sexual misconduct. After HuffPost reported in 2017 that Bolling had sent “lewd” images to female colleagues via text message, an internal investigation led Fox Business to cancel his show. “Fox News Channel is canceling The Specialists, and Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably,” the network explained in a statement provided to Politico.

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Bolling went on to join Sinclair Broadcasting Group in April 2019, hosting his own show, “America This Week.” There, Bolling stirred up controversy in 2020 when he questioned the origin of the COVID-19 virus and voiced doubt about face masks stopping the spread of the virus. In January 2021, Sinclair canceled the show, with Bolling revealing his next venture would be a podcast alongside former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who would eventually show the public his shady side.

Just a few months later, in June 2021, Bolling was hired by Newsmax. After nearly three years, though, Bolling parted ways with Newsmax and while he didn’t have a new project to announce, he offered some hints in a statement issued upon his departure: “The fight to inform the American people will remain paramount for Eric as he takes his audience on a new path with new partners” (via Deadline). In the fall of 2024, Bolling launched a new podcast, “Bolling,” which was picked up by right-wing cable news outlet Real America’s Voice the following February. 

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Geraldo Rivera was already a veteran journalist and controversial talk show host when he joined Fox News in 2001, where he initially worked as a war correspondent. Rivera went on to spend the next two-plus decades at the network, hosting his own show, “Geraldo at Large,” and later becoming part of the panel on “The Five.” 

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In June 2023, Rivera shared a social media post revealing that he’d been axed from “The Five,” which led him to leave Fox News altogether. A Fox News spokesperson issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, reading, “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.”

Rivera didn’t stay unemployed for long. In February 2024, he was hired as a correspondent-at-large for NewsNation, the upstart cable news channel that hired Chris Cuomo following his firing from CNN. “Geraldo is a legendary journalist whose talent and experience is unrivaled in the industry,” NewsNation president Michael Corn sad in a statement. “We look forward to him joining the network and providing our viewers with his one-of-a-kind analysis.”

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Kimberly Guilfoyle first came to Fox News in 2006, appearing in various on-camera roles for the network until her exit in 2018. While Guilfoyle claimed that her leaving Fox News was of her own accord, HuffPost subsequently reported that she was pushed out in the wake of allegations of workplace misconduct. A bombshell 2020 exposé published in The New Yorker confirmed HuffPost’s report, adding an array of salacious details about Guilfoyle’s inappropriate behavior toward an assistant, which resulted in Fox News shelling out millions to said assistant in an out-of-court settlement. 

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Prior to her exit from Fox News, Guilfoyle began dating Donald Trump Jr., eventually becoming his fiancée. Because of that relationship, she became an influential figure within the inner circle of President Donald Trump, even delivering a fiery (or, depending on one’s perspective, frantic) speech in support of his candidacy for a second term during the Republican National Convention.

Guilfoyle and Don Jr.’s relationship did not stand the test of time, with them splitting up around the same time that reports claimed he’d been canoodling with Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson. Shortly before their breakup, though, Trump — who was elected president a second time in 2024 – appointed Guilfoyle as America’s ambassador to Greece. 

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When fired Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Fox News’ head honcho for wrongful termination and sexual harassment, she sent shockwaves through the network. Carlson’s claim that Ailes fired her after she refused his advances ultimately led to his downfall. Ailes was ultimately fired and Carlson was awarded a whopping $20 million settlement from Fox News. 

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Carlson went on to write about her experience in a book. Described as a “groundbreaking manifesto, “Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back” found Carlson drawing from her own personal experience to advise women on ways to confront sexual harassment in the workplace. 

Coming to realize that she’d become, as she told Vanity Fair, a “poster child for harassment in the workplace,” Carlson increasingly began hearing from other women who’d experienced similar harassment in their places of employment. “What really buoyed my spirits in those days of dark despair was all these other women that started reaching out to me,” Carlson explained. Listening to the stories of so many other women, Carlson understood that she had a responsibility. “That’s when I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to use my voice and my platform to change this,” she added. That led her to launch her foundation, Lift Our Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to passing legislation to eliminate nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration clauses meant to silence victims of harassment.  

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A staple on Fox News’ sister channel, Fox Business, Lou Dobbs hosted its most-watched show, “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” Despite Dobbs’ mighty ratings, Fox Corporation (parent company of both) abruptly canceled Dobbs’ show in February 2021. As the Los Angeles Times reported at the time, Dobbs was still under contract but was unlikely to ever appear on the air on a Fox network. A source told CNN that Dobbs had effectively been “benched.” The source alleged that he was under a “pay or play” contract — meaning he’d continue to get paid even though he’d essentially been axed. 

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While the network was somewhat cagey about the reasons underlying the cancellation of Dobbs’ show, a key factor was likely the lawsuit filed 24 hours earlier by Smartmatic, a producer of electronic voting systems, as CNN reported. That suit, which was seeking $2.7 billion in damages, accused Dobbs of being “one of the primary proponents” of a “disinformation campaign” against the company due to Dobbs’ disseminating conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election had been rigged against Donald Trump by manipulation of Smartmatic’s software.

Dobbs never did appear on Fox News or Fox Business again, but he wasn’t silenced completely. He kept talking on his podcast, “The Great American Show.” Dobbs continued to host his podcast until shortly before his death in July 2024. He was 78 years old.

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In 2012, Melissa Francis jumped from CNBC to Fox Business, taking a job as an anchor. As she did more work for the network — including additional hosting duties and making regular appearances on Tucker Carlson’s show — her salary remained more or less the same. She began digging around, researching how much her male and female counterparts were being paid and discovered that women were routinely paid less. During contract renegotiations in 2019, she was informed she wouldn’t be getting a raise. She presented the evidence she’d gathered and claimed that she was told that women at the network were simply not paid as much as men, end of discussion. 

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Her contract wasn’t renewed, but she continued working for Fox News and Fox Business. That all changed when she filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor, alleging gender-based pay discrimination. It wasn’t long after that, in October 2020, that Francis was preparing for a broadcast when a message appeared on her teleprompter, informing her that her show had been canceled. She was subsequently told that she was being let go. 

Francis, however, had the last laugh. In June 2022, Fox News agreed to pay her a $15 million settlement over her claims. In 2024, she revealed via social media that she’d landed another gig, as an anchor for Newsmax.

Veteran political operative Bob Beckel first joined Fox News in 2000 as a contributor and had an on-again, off-again relationship with the cable news network throughout the years that followed. In 2011, he was back at Fox News as one of the originating panelists on a new show, “The Five.” That lasted until June 2015, when he was let go under murky circumstances. “We tried to work with Bob for months, but we couldn’t hold The Five hostage to one man’s personal issues,” Bill Shine, the executive VP of programming, revealed in a statement (via Politico). “He took tremendous advantage of our generosity, empathy and goodwill and we simply came to the end of the road with him.” Beckel later revealed in a piece for CNN that he’d undergone major back surgery, and had subsequently developed an addiction to prescription painkillers.

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In January 2017, Beckel was rehired, taking his old spot on “The Five.” That return, however, did not last long. Just four months later, Beckel was pink-slipped. “Bob Beckel was terminated today for making an insensitive remark to an African-American employee,” a Fox News rep said in a statement to Variety.

In 2022, five years following his firing, Beckel passed away at the age of 73.

Actor Stacey Dash leaped to fame due to her role in mega-hit 1995 teen comedy “Clueless.” She continued acting after that, appearing in numerous TV shows and movies until emerging as a right-wing political pundit. Producers at Fox News took notice of her 2012 endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and in 2014 she was hired as a contributor to provide commentary on various Fox News shows. Dash stirred up plenty of controversy, but it all came to an end when she used profanity directed toward then-President Barack Obama during a live broadcast in December 2015. She received a two-week suspension that became permanent when the network subsequently failed to renew her contract. 

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In 2021, Dash claimed that her conservative views ruined her career, saying they led her to be blacklisted in Hollywood. Interviewed by the Daily Mail, she was apologetic when she declared she was no longer engaging in anything political, claiming that Fox News had typecast her. “I was the angry, conservative, Black woman,” she said. In fact, she also insisted she’d evolved significantly since then and was no longer the same person she was then. “Stacey now would never work at Fox, would never work for a news network or be a news contributor,” she said, referring to herself in the third person. Later that year, Dash appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show” to reveal that she’d developed a dependency on prescription painkillers, and at one point was taking up to 20 pills each day.

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Having gotten sober, Dash subsequently attempted to rebrand herself as a wellness advocate. In 2025, she teamed up with skincare manufacturer Ghost Democracy on the company’s new Wholesale Partnership Program initiative.