Tragic Details About Former ABC News Anchor Kendis Gibson

Trigger warning: The following article contains mentions of attempted suicide.

While news anchors often present with jovial smiles and fun banter, those smiles can often hide an internal darkness or mask the pain of an unhealthy work environment. Former ABC anchor Kendis Gibson has one of the most vibrant smiles, but he unfortunately worked in one of the most toxic workplaces in the industry.

"There was an underlying depression already there," Gibson exclusively told Page Six in November 2024, referring to how his mental health was already suffering by the time he started anchoring "World News Now" at ABC, which only made it worse. His work on the overnight show severely impacted his mental health, as it had the show's previous anchors, but he alleged that the higher-ups refused to take him off the desk. "It was just a lot, and the network was not listening to me at all," he said, commenting that they routinely dismissed his pitches for "Good Morning America" segments. "If you're not on 'GMA,' you're not earning your keep. [It feels like] there's something wrong with you. It was screwing with my psyche," he said.

Toward the end of his contract, Gibson declined an extension and pay raise, calling the offer a "network pittance" in his memoir "Five Trips: An Investigative Journey into Mental Health, Psychedelic Healing, and Saving a Life" (via Page Six). "[I] didn't think it was worth my time and health to sacrifice another year working that difficult schedule," he wrote. "World News Now" aired live at 2:00 AM EST, which created a grueling schedule for Gibson, contributing to his insomnia and anxiety for which he needed to take Ambien.

In addition to not feeling valued for his work, Kendis Gibson also suffered from racism prevalent at ABC. "Welcome to Mickey's plantation," a Black colleague at ABC commented to Gibson early during his tenure at the Disney-owned network. "The sense I got from them was that it was in reference to veiled racism, and there was some truth to what was behind it," Gibson told Page Six. Gibson would quickly learn firsthand the truth behind those worlds as he was the target of racism at ABC News.

"You're doing television news now, not attending a rap concert. Don't ever wear jeans again," senior VP Barbara Fedida said over the phone to Gibson once after he wore jeans live on a show (via Page Six). According to a source speaking with HuffPost in June 2020, Fedida once demeaned that ABC "spends more on toilet paper than we ever would on [Gibson]." When the report came out and Gibson learned of those comments, he spiraled on his bathroom floor, crying and screaming. "It was such a tough moment for me," he told Page Six. "This was a woman that basically had my mental health in her hand at the time, and to have known that, in hindsight, also [had] a really terrible impact on my health," he said to Fox News in a December 2024 interview.

Unfortunately, Gibson wasn't the only target of Fedida's racism as she made derogatory remarks about other ABC news employees. During contract renewal negotiations with famed "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts, Fedida commented that it wasn't like ABC was tasking Roberts with "picking cotton" when Roberts wanted a pay raise in 2018 (via HuffPost). Roberts also contended that Black colleagues, despite their qualifications, weren't taken seriously for various roles and promotions at the network. For this and various other toxic reasons, Fedida was let go from the network. In a memo to staff, Walt Disney Television Peter Rice wrote, "The investigation substantiated that Ms. Fedida did make some of the unacceptable racially insensitive comments attributed to her" (via the New York Post).

From a taxing schedule to a racist work environment, Kendis Gibson's tenure at ABC News was harrowing and difficult, and ultimately pushed him to a point where he wanted to take his own life. On October 12, 2018, after anchoring an episode of "World News Now," Kendis took two Ambiens with two glasses of wine, cried himself to sleep, and decided to commit suicide. Thankfully the drugs he took sent him not through the kitchen window he was prepared to jump out of, but numbly onto the floor. He was awakened by a friend later, who then staged an intervention for Gibson (via Page Six).

Gibson left ABC News in 2019 and has been better since and without suicide thoughts. After pit stops at MSNBC and CBS Miami, Gibson joined WPIX New York in early 2024. "Kendis Gibson's dynamic presence and unparalleled journalistic expertise make him a valuable addition to the PIX11 News family as one of New York's Very Own," the network said in a statement (via Next TV). Gibson anchored afternoon segments — quite the improvement from that 2:00 AM "World News Now" timeslot. "I'm in a different space. It's the first time I've been anywhere where I'm not looking for the next job and I'm comfortable in my skin," Gibson told Page Six.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.