Fox News on Friday announced it’s terminating “The Five” co-host Bob Beckel after he made a “racially insensitive remark,” Variety reports.
“Bob Beckel was terminated today for making an insensitive remark to an African-American employee,” Fox News said in a statement. According a person familiar with the situation, Fox News’ human resources department became aware of the remark on Tuesday evening, and opted to part ways with Beckel following an internal investigation.
The network has been embroiled in scandal since last July, when former chairman Roger Ailes was ousted following allegations of sexual harassment. In April, Fox News heavyweight Bill O’Reilly was similarly forced to leave the network amid charges of sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Later that month, 11 current a former employees filed suit against Fox News, accusing the network of “abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination.”
This is not the first time Beckel has been booted from the network. As Variety reports, in 2015, he was kicked off-air following back surgery. Former executive vice president of programming, Bill Shine, said the network “tried to work with Bob for months, but we couldn’t hold ‘The Five’ hostage to one man’s personal issues.”
“He took tremendous advantage of our generosity, empathy and goodwill and we simply came to the end of the road with him,” Shine said in a statement.
Beckel was brought back to the network in 2017.
Thursday, following news of Ailes’ death, Beckel tweeted his thanks to the former Fox News chairman.
“15 years ago I was out of work after a fake scandal Roger Ailes gave me work,” Beckel wrote. “A great man with a big heart may he now rest in peace.”
