Fox News Personalities Who Were Fired For Their Inappropriate Behavior

The following article includes allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.

Fox News' history of surprise firings over inappropriate behavior began at the very top with its founder and former chairman, Roger Ailes. In 2016, former network anchor Gretchen Carlson (no relation to disgraced former Fox News host Tucker Carlson) filed a lawsuit accusing Ailes of sexual harassment. Carlson's lawsuit set off a wave of allegations from other women, leading to an internal investigation that uncovered a toxic work culture fostered under Ailes' leadership.

The revelations were damaging enough that Ailes was forced to resign in July 2016. Alas, it was only the first in a series of scandals that would result in the firing of many more prominent Fox News personalities. As it turns out, the Ailes scandal underscored deeper systemic issues at the network. After his departure, the lawsuit encouraged others to come forward with their own major allegations. Ailes died in 2017, just a year after losing his spot at the top, but the accusations against Fox News personalities continued long after this.

Bill O'Reilly was one of the most recognized figures on Fox News until he was forced out in April 2017. He didn't stand a chance after the New York Times reported that he and Fox News had paid $13 million to settle multiple sexual harassment claims against him. Advertisers fled from his top-rated show after protests called for his removal from Fox. 

Even though he vehemently denied the allegations,Fox News ultimately decided to part ways with him, stating, "We want to underscore our consistent commitment to fostering a work environment built on the values of trust and respect" (via Politico). His departure — which came not long after Ailes' — signaled that no one at the network, regardless of their influence or their ratings, was untouchable when it came to misconduct allegations. O'Reilly has attempted to stage a comeback through various online ventures and independent media appearances, but his credibility has never fully recovered. The same goes for his hurt feelings, which often resulted in him lashing out at Fox News in the wake of his firing.

Eric Bolling, once a mainstay at Fox News and Fox Business, was dismissed in September 2017 after allegations surfaced that he had sent unsolicited lewd images to female colleagues. Though he took a page out of Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes' books and denied the accusations, a Fox News internal investigation found that the accusations had merit. This led to Bolling's immediate termination. His show, "Fox News Specialists," was also canceled.

Bolling threatened legal action against the reporter who broke the story, but no lawsuit was ever actually filed. The fallout from Bolling's firing was complicated by personal tragedy, as his son passed away shortly after the scandal erupted. Bolling later refocused his career on opioid awareness, using his platform to discuss the crisis in memory of his son. In 2021, Bolling landed back on cable news — this time at Newsmax. He was given an hourlong weeknight slot called "The Balance," and he stayed there for three years before departing at the end of May 2024.

Kimberly Guilfoyle — a longtime co-host on "The Five" turned love interest (and, later, ex) of Donald Trump Jr. — left Fox News in July 2018. While her official departure was initially framed as something voluntary, later reports revealed that she had been pushed out following an internal investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct. This included inappropriate behavior toward female staff, not unlike her male colleagues.

Guilfoyle was accused of making sexually suggestive comments and engaging in unwanted advances, not to mention creating an all-around toxic work environment. Although she denied the allegations, her sudden exit and subsequent pivot to political advocacy tell us that her Fox News departure may not have been as amicable as it had first seemed. She quickly aligned herself with President Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign as well as his 2024 run, allowing her to maintain public visibility despite the controversy surrounding her departure at Fox News.

Megyn Kelly, once a prime-time Fox News host and one of the biggest names to come from the network, was very outspoken about the harassment she faced under Roger Ailes. Her willingness to challenge the network's leadership led to plenty of tension behind the scenes, not to mention the downfall of Ailes himself. In 2017, she left Fox News for NBC, but, as it turned out, things were no less tense over there. She soon found herself embroiled in controversy over some very insensitive comments about blackface that led to her being axed from her morning news slot in October 2018.

Her story is an interesting example of a Fox News personality who ended up being fired from another network. Kelly's move to NBC was intended to signal a fresh start, but her tenure there was short-lived due to her highly inappropriate remarks about race.

In July 2020, Fox News fired one of its most well-known anchors, Ed Henry, after an investigation into allegations of what they called "willful sexual misconduct" (via Politico). A former employee had accused Henry of engaging in inappropriate behavior in the workplace, prompting the network to hire an external law firm to conduct an independent investigation. As we've seen in the examples above, this seems to be standard practice. The findings led to Henry's immediate termination.

Henry later filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, claiming wrongful termination, but the case did little (if anything) to repair his tarnished reputation. His firing also reignited discussions about whether Fox News had truly reformed its workplace culture. Despite the network's public commitment to fostering a respectful work environment, the cycle of allegations and dismissals tells a very different story.

The firings might have slowed at the network since 2020 — former host Tucker Carlson was the last major name to be removed from the primetime lineup in 2023. But there's no doubt this pile-up between 2016 and 2020 left a lasting stain on the network's reputation.