Geraldo Rivera is the second cohost of color pushed off The Five show, likely because cohost Greg Gutfeld couldn’t tolerate their opinions. UPDATED with comments from Rivera indicating he chose to leave because of Gutfeld.
According to The Daily Beast, Rivera tweeted that he’ll be officially canceled from The Five after his appearances as a rotating cohost on June 28 and June 29. “’For the time being, I’m still Correspondent at Large,’ he ominously added,” TDB noted.
TDB further points out that Rivera tweeted last month that he’d been unofficially canceled after he was mocked by “free speech lover” Gutfeld for calling Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 conspiracy theory “bullshit.” The Daily Beast also noted that Rivera’s appearances on The Five dwindled shortly after that incident.
In reality, Carlson’s Jan. 6 conspiracy theory has been proven as BS, and anchor Chris Wallace left Fox News over it, but why would a guy like Gutfeld care about pesky facts when he’s reportedly in consideration to move to prime time?
There's also a real possibility Gutfeld will take over Carlson's slot. By wild coincidence, the Murdoch-controlled Wall Street Journal published a fawning interview with Gutfeld today. It describes him as having “become even more important to Fox News” since Carlson was fired. Asked if he wants to take over Carlson’s spot, Gutfeld replies, “Obviously, it’s crossed my mind.” He adds that if he did, he’d drop both The Five and his "Gutfeld" show “because I would prepare for [the new] show like crazy.”
In any event, Rivera follows Juan Williams as now the second cohost, and the second cohost of color, kicked off the show after clashing with Gutfeld. And that’s not counting “free speech loving” Gutfeld’s meltdown after Black Fox News analyst Ted Williams crossed the cohost by daring to say “Greg is off his meds” if he thought there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Officer Derek Chauvin of murdering George Floyd. “You are finished,” Gutfeld responded. Shortly afterward, Williams’ explanation of Chauvin’s guilt was interrupted and the discussion ended.
It just so happens, Carlson had a penchant for canceling people he disagreed with, too. In fact, Gutfeld was praised by Carlson’s also-fired producer, in a text to Carlson, after Gutfeld seemed to criticize a reporter who fact-checked a Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell press conference pushing conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines. (Fox just settled Dominion’s defamation case against the network for $787.5 million.)
I don’t know if Gutfeld will replace Carlson in the 8 PM ET hour, but if so, he’ll obviously fit right in.
6/26/23 UPDATE: In my post yesterday, about Kara Swisher offering to replace Rivera and provide a "lesbian beat down" on The Five, I included the following:
An interview with the AP’s David Bauder makes it clear Rivera was pushed out, not thrown out:
Rivera said that it was his choice to leave “The Five,” but that Fox management “didn’t race after me to say, ‘Geraldo, please come back.’” There was no immediate comment from Fox.
…
Rivera would not comment directly about Gutfeld.
“There has been a growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences and personal annoyances and gripes,” he said. “It’s not worth it to me.”
(Gutfeld image via screen grab)
