Roger Ailes Has Died At Age 77

Roger Ailes, the founder and former chairman of Fox News, has died at age 77, less than a year after he was forced out of Fox in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against him. UPDATED with cause of death.

No cause of death was given in the original FoxNews.com report:

The Ohio-born television pioneer was a confidante of presidents and a acknowledged master of communications. He founded Fox News in 1996 and built it into the nation's long-running No. 1 cable news network Ailes resigned from Fox in July amid charges of sexual harrassment.

His widow, Elizabeth Ailes, confirmed the news in a statement.

"I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning," the statement read. "Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many. He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise—and to give back."

Gabriel Sherman notes:

Several days ago, Ailes called a friend and said, "Well, if you want to know if I'm suicidal the answer is no."
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) May 18, 2017

Ailes was spending time apart from his wife in recent days. Elizabeth Ailes had been in Palm Beach, Ailes was alone up in Garrison NY
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) May 18, 2017

UPDATE:

Per 2nd family friend on cause of death: Ailes fell in Palm Beach and had a blood clot from the fall. He suffered complications.
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) May 18, 2017

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Showing 18 reactions

commented 2017-05-18 22:29:23 -0400 · Flag

Yay! Thanks dear Ellen :)

commented 2017-05-18 22:28:38 -0400 · Flag

Speaking ill of the dead is supposedly not the done thing, but I haven’t noticed a lot of restraint about Stalin, Hitler, Ivan the Terrible and Vlad the Impaler. Ailes was arguably THE biggest villain in the partisan war on truth that has divided the country since the 90’s and second only to the despicable Cheney in setting the Middle East on fire, at the cost of millions of lives.

As someone on Twitter said, “I don’t celebrate the man’s death, but I do wish he had never been born.”

commented 2017-05-18 14:27:25 -0400 · Flag

Clearly, Aile’s wife killed the pervert

commented 2017-05-18 13:49:23 -0400 · Flag

Yahoo

commented 2017-05-18 13:14:54 -0400 · Flag

The Foxies are reading this, and since most of them claim be so-called Christians. I will park this right here for all to read, especially for Hannie Pie.

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” Hebrews 9:27

“As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.” Job 4:8

commented 2017-05-18 13:06:04 -0400 · Flag

Good riddance. I know we should not disparage the dead, but this pig deserves nothing beyond ignominy. He was truly evil, and the world is a better place today.

commented 2017-05-18 12:19:12 -0400 · Flag

I believe he might have died of power intoxication withdrawal. Karma can be a b,,,,

commented 2017-05-18 11:44:34 -0400 · Flag

" I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure. ”

— Clarence Darrow

commented 2017-05-18 11:34:38 -0400 · Flag

Here’s the reaction from Fox & Friends this morning when the news broke. WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised…https://youtu.be/mdlFFlIxyns

commented 2017-05-18 10:58:04 -0400 · Flag

LMAO!

No EOF, on the contrary, you hit the nail right on the head!

:^)

commented 2017-05-18 10:39:35 -0400 · Flag

Richard, the good news is Pirro won’t have to wear Vasoline over her lipstick anymore at Fox News.

Oh… that was very bad.

commented 2017-05-18 10:31:01 -0400 · Flag

From Jan Hall’s comment:
“The Barbie Dolls on ‘Outnumbered’ will raise their skirts to half thigh for the next 30 days in Roger’s honor”

Right you are Jan — and DO NOT be surprised if Jeanine Pirro pays tribute to her deceased former boss by wearing a sleeveless dress that shows more of her cleavage!

commented 2017-05-18 10:23:14 -0400 · Flag

The one good thing about life is that no one gets outta here alive.

commented 2017-05-18 10:12:58 -0400 · Flag

Dividing the country into Us vs Them just to hustle a buck. That will be Roger’s Legacy. He is largely responsible for what ‘Ailes’ America today. The Barbie Dolls on ‘Outnumbered’ will raise their skirts to half thigh for the next 30 days in Roger’s Honor.

commented 2017-05-18 10:12:18 -0400 · Flag

Roger ‘Zipper Down’ Ailes euphemistically revolutionized the news if you listen to post-death tributes. But much for the worse.

Propaganda factory Fox News is behind much of the polarization of America and belief amongst conservatives they can only trust news sources telling them what they want to hear. All the while serial lying the network is “fair and balanced”.

Then there’s the nasty CEO who ran GOPTV™ like a tyrant demanding they tow the Republican line and who had a casting couch for raping female talent.

Some legacy. Essentially, the Trump administration is the product of his political incest with the GOP. I piss on his grave.

commented 2017-05-18 10:08:22 -0400 · Flag

“Patriot” my ass. Greed fascist. Goebbels, Inc.
Fox lost, rabbit won.

commented 2017-05-18 09:33:54 -0400 · Flag

Jabba left us too late.

commented 2017-05-18 09:13:24 -0400 · Flag

I’m sure that someone is grieving Ailes’ death, but that’s their problem. Personally, I feel that his death came 15 years too late.