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In his first post-Fox appearance, Geraldo Rivera told the women of The View that a ‘toxic relationship’ with a co-host on panel show The Five preceded his departure from the network after 23 years, which was announced on June 29.
Weeks after departing the right-wing network, Rivera told the female co-hosts of The View that prior to his firing from Fox’s top-rated panel show The Five, he had a ‘toxic relationship with one of the cast members.’
The longtime TV presence did not mention by name who the cast member with whom he feuded, but said it was one of the male co-hosts and that network executives always ‘favored’ the co-host following their on-air disputes. Rivera frequently sparred with Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld during the panel show.
The 80-year-old journalist said he was subsequently suspended three times from the afternoon panel show and began to have his scheduled appearances limited by executives.
Rivera told the ladies of The View that prior to his firing from Fox’s top-rated panel show The Five, he had a ‘toxic relationship with one of the cast members’
Rivera shared the ‘liberal’ seat with with Jessica Tarlov and former congressman Harold Ford Jr. – giving voice to opinions that are relatively unpopular with Fox’s viewing audience
Getting into more detail about the toxic relationship that was the beginning of his end at Fox, Rivera said that he ‘thought that it was very unfair that I was not judged objectively in our disputes, but rather he was always favored and I was the one I was suspended, you know, three times.’
He said his appearance were canceled at the last minute, ‘you know right before I was supposed to go on, so I was really ticked off.’
At that point, co-host Joy Behar said: ‘So we know it’s a guy?’ about the colleague with whom Rivera feuded.
‘It’s a guy. It’s not Jeanine, Janine I love Jeanine, I discovered Janine,’ said Rivera, referring to Fox personality Judge Jeanine Piro.
On revealing which host things got toxic with, Rivera said: ‘I may get there,’ but for now internet sleuths will have to piece together the puzzle.
The five female co-hosts had kicked off the show by blasting Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, and the state of the Republican party writ-large.
Token conservative host Alyssa Farah Griffin, formerly a frequent Fox news guest and self-identified viewer, agreed with her progressive co-hosts that the network will need to reform itself entirely to again become a respected news provider.
Rivera spoke highly of many of his former Fox colleagues, commending both their journalistic work and the way they treated him on his way out, but condemned the network absolutely for its coverage of the 2020 election and post-January 6 coverage.
‘Fox had a moral crisis after the election,’ he said, adding that there was no place left for him at the network, despite having a year-and-a-half left on his contract, because his ‘ideology does not fit Fox.’
He said that some weeks ago, he got a call from two female Fox executives who told him he was being fired from The Five, but that there was room to fit him in elsewhere on the network.
In turn, he told the executives that if they were firing him from the network’s top performing program, he would quit – and that’s ‘basically what happened,’ he said.
‘Fox had a moral crisis after the election,’ Rivera told the panel, adding that there was no place left for him at the network, despite having a year-and-a-half left on his contract, because his ‘ideology does not fit Fox’
Rivera often sparred uncomfortably with Fox funnyman Greg Gutfeld, when the two appeared on The Five together
Co-workers to the end: The Fox and Friends co-hosts jokingly wore fake mustaches at one point to honor their former Fox colleague
Rivera also spoke about the prospect of Donald Trump regaining the Oval Office during the next presidential election.
He wobbled on his tone toward Trump, recounting an affectionate personal history with the former president, recalling a time when the billionaire politician was a social character around New York, and praising him for not kicking him off The Celebrity Apprentice.
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He added, however, that he will devote the rest of his journalistic career to ensuring that he is never reelected president.
‘He lost the election and became a crazy guy,’ said Rivera, noting that Trump had given him significant access to the White House during his term.
Prior to his departure, Rivera spent the last few years moving away from his once-conservative viewpoints and becoming more and more antagonistic toward the hosts and anchors of the network that employed him.
He supported Donald Trump personally, though not politically, up until the January 6 Capitol riot, when his views on a number of issues swung to the left.
The veteran broadcaster started his career as a local journalist in New York in the early 1970s, before moving on to being a war correspondent.
It was his expose revealing the horrific conditions at a Staten Island facility housing developmentally disabled children and adults that made him a national name.
Rivera won a Peabody Award and national plaudits for exposing the awful conditions and abuse of patients at Staten Island’s Willowbrook State School, as well as Rockland County’s Letchworth Village.
He also ran a special opening gangster Al Capone’s vault in the basement of a Chicago hotel. The vault was empty, but the spectacle drew a huge audience.
In 2011, Rivera famously questioned Casey Anthony over the death of her daughter, calling her a ‘selfish, narcissistic, self-involved s***.’
The journalist suffered a broken nose while fighting racists while taping ”Teen Hatemongers” on his television talk show.
The violence broke out after John Metzger, a 20-year-old guest representing the White Aryan Resistance Youth, insulted a black guest, Roy Innis, calling him an ‘Uncle Tom.’
Rivera also suffered a broken nose while fighting racists while taping ”Teen Hatemongers” on his television talk show in 1988
Boots on the ground: The former co-host of The Five has been a professional reporter since the 70s; seen in a Wounded Soldiers in Guatemala segment in 1978
The veteran broadcaster started his career as a local journalist in New York in the early 1970s, before moving on to being a war correspondent
In 2021, Rivera signed a new multi-year deal at FOX to serve as a correspondent at large.
As part of that contract, he was slated to host a new show for FOX Nation streaming service, Cops: All Access, a recap and retrospective program for Cops.
Rivera, who celebrated his 80th birthday just days after he resigned, was shown a montage of his best moments from over the years on his last day at the network, which he described as ‘deeply touching’.
He added: ‘Every scene brings back a visceral reaction. You remember how you were feeling when it was happening. It has been infinite adventure and taken me to four corners of the world.
‘I have such affection for the people in this building, I really do. I feel emotional and deeply moved. I will always remember this morning.
‘It is something that I didn’t expect. This celebration is beyond anything we’ve ever done.’
In a statement after Geraldo’s resignation, Fox said: ‘We reached an amicable conclusion with Geraldo over the past few weeks and look forward to celebrating him on Fox and Friends on Friday morning which will be his last appearance on the network.’
