What These Fired Fox News Anchors Are Doing Today

This article contains mentions of rape and sexual harassment.

Fox News is a machine. It's got dozens of anchors who comment on politics and culture day in and day out, and the television hosts who've made it to primetime slots have had massive effects on their audience. In the second Trump era, Fox News anchors have even taken on major bureaucratic positions – the controversial Pete Hegseth became the Secretary of Defense in 2025, and Dan Bongino was tapped to be deputy director of the FBI. To say that hosting a Fox News show holds weight would be a massive understatement.

But hosting for Fox News can also be a fickle position. Broadcast journalism is famously a difficult field to be in, and it's no different for the people at the top. In many respects, it's harder to stay on top than it is to get there. While many Fox News hosts are quite powerful, none of them are above getting fired. Take a look at what these fired Fox News anchors are doing today.

Glenn Beck first ruled radio, and then took his talents and audience to television — first to CNN and then to Fox News where he began hosting his eponymous program in 2009. Beck's stint at Fox News wasn't particularly long, and by 2011 he was off the air. "His goals were different from our goals ... I need people focused on a daily television show," former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes said of Beck in an interview with The Daily Beast at the time. It didn't take long for Beck to find something new to do — the host started his own online network called GBTV that began pushing out content immediately after Beck's last episode on Fox News aired. "If you're a fan of Jon Stewart, you're going to find something on GBTV that you're going to enjoy. If you're a fan of '24,' you're going to find something on GBTV that you're going to enjoy," Beck told The New York Times at the time.

GBTV didn't remain in its original iteration for long as it quickly generated revenue and was able to transition from the internet to traditional television networks — the platform was also rebranded from GBTV to TheBlaze. However, in 2017, the company nearly went under, but was saved in 2018 thanks to a merger with CRTV. 

Despite no longer being tied to Fox News, Beck remains a prominent voice in conservative media. Through his company, Beck hosts the weekday podcast "The Glenn Beck Program," as well as the Saturday podcast "The Glenn Beck Podcast." Beck also appears on television via BlazeTV, and writes fiction, non-fiction, self-help, and children's books, 13 of which have become bestsellers.

Bill O'Reilly was a controversial fixture at Fox News for decades. The political commentator hosted "The O'Reilly Factor" from 1996 until 2017 when he was fired from the network after The New York Times reported that although Fox had privately settled numerous lawsuits aimed at O'Reilly, costing the company millions, he still was offered a new contract.

"There were a lot of other business things in play at that time and still today that 21st Century was involved with," Bill O'Reilly said of his firing from Fox News while being interviewed on "Today" in 2017. O'Reilly maintained that he was not guilty of any misconduct, saying, "This was a hit job, a political and financial hit job ... Nobody's a perfect person, but I can go to sleep at night very well knowing that I never mistreated anyone on my watch in 42 years."

O'Reilly amassed an enormous fan base while working at Fox News, and was able to take a significant number with him when he left. The same year he was fired, the TV host started the podcast "Bill O'Reilly's No Spin News and Analysis," and has been hosting that ever since. O'Reilly also hosts "No Spin News" as a TV series on YouTube.

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Tucker Carlson was one of the most famous anchors on Fox News. His program, "Tucker Carlson Tonight," garnered millions of viewers each week, and some even hoped he'd run for office one day. But Carlson's relationship with Fox News ended abruptly in 2023 when he was fired from the network for no apparent reason. Carlson didn't speak much on the matter, but he did seemingly think that his forced departure was due to being unafraid to speak the truth. The former anchor initially took to X to continue the work he did on Fox News of sharing and commenting on political updates.

Eventually, theories about the truth behind Carlson's firing came to light thanks to the book "Network of Lies" by Brian Stelter. In his book, the journalist gave alleged reasons as to why the anchor was let go, including creating a toxic work environment and spreading conspiracy theories. "Carlson was believed to have Trump-like hypnotic power over the GOP base. He was believed to be irreplaceable. But that impression was, in large part, a creation of Carlson's. In truth, Carlson had alienated so many people, instigated so many internal and external scandals, fanned so many flames of ugliness, that his firing was inevitable," Stelter wrote. "That's why Fox dropped Carlson. It wasn't one thing. It was everything," he added. The allegations in Stelter's book didn't seem to do much to Carlson's reputation, and in 2024, he launched a podcast, "The Tucker Carlson Show," which quickly became one of the most popular political podcasts available.

Ed Henry's problems continued to follow him long after he was fired from Fox News. In 2020, the news anchor was given the axe from the network after being accused of rape by former Fox Business producer Jennifer Eckhart in a lawsuit against Fox News that was also brought forth by former guest news analyst Cathy Areu, who accused Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Howard Kurtz of sexual harassment.

Henry denied the allegations against him and maintained that he and Eckhart engaged in consensual sex. Still, the network let Henry go, and the journalist eventually found a new home at the Real America's Voice channel co-hosting the show "American Sunrise." In 2023, however, Henry was fired from his post at Real America's Voice after he was reportedly offered a job at another station. Henry and Real America's Voice apparently did not split on good terms. 

The year 2023 ended fine for Henry employment-wise. The journalist was hired by Newsmax, despite reports of other staff members calling him "a walking lawsuit" and being upset by his new position. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to hire him. He's a legal risk. It's not even a question of it, it's a guarantee," one Newsmax employee said of the decision at the time, as reported by Mediaite. The following year, Eckhart, who continued her legal battle against Fox News, filed a new motion against the network in November 2024 which included further allegations against Henry, claiming he sexually assaulted another woman while working at Fox News and that the network knew about Henry's alleged behavior. The 2024 allegations seemingly haven't threatened Henry's post at Newsmax.

While Eric Bolling didn't have the cachet of Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity during his time at Fox News, he was still a consistent presence on the network. Bolling co-hosted "Fox News Specialists" until 2017 when he was accused by colleagues of sexual misconduct. The report was first broken by HuffPost, and just hours after the story was published, Bolling was suspended by Fox News — months later he and the network officially split. "Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably. We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck," Fox News said in a statement, as reported by HuffPost.

Bolling landed on his feet almost immediately after exiting Fox News. The news anchor found a job with BlazeTV, the company partially owned by former Fox News host Glenn Beck. Bolling hosted "America with Eric Bolling" for a few years before moving on to host "America This Week" for Sinclair Broadcast Group. The program was eventually canceled, and Bolling started a podcast with former professional football player Brett Favre. Bolling then hosted "The Balance" on Newsmax, but in 2024, it was announced that he had ended his professional relationship with the network. "It's time for Eric to embark on new endeavors. Eric and Newsmax are grateful for their time together and proud of the work they have produced," a Newsmax statement said, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Later that year, Bolling started another podcast called "Bolling!" which he hosts on his own.

Lou Dobbs was as much a staple as anyone on Fox News during his time at the network. The commentator hosted "Lou Dobbs Tonight" for decades, but lost his job in 2021. According to Fox News, the change was something that had been in the works for a while. "Plans have been in place to launch new formats as appropriate postelection, including on Fox Business. This is part of those planned changes," the network said, as reported by The New York Times. However, the timing raised some red flags as one day prior to his firing, Dobbs was named in a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox filed by Smartmatic. While hosting "Lou Dobbs Tonight," Dobbs said that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump.

TV experts had theories as to why Dobbs got the boot. "I think he was partly dismissed just 'cause management had enough of him," journalist Brian Stelter told CNN. "They were just tired of his BS. But they've got a lot of other people there selling the same story." After getting the axe from Fox, Dobbs hosted "The Great America Show with Lou Dobbs." However, his ventures outside of his former home network didn't last long. In 2024, Dobbs died at the age of 78.

Gretchen Carlson was a fixture on Fox News for over a decade. The former news anchor was the face of "Fox & Friends" and later "The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson" until she was allegedly fired after declining her former boss Roger Ailes' sexual advances. Carlson then took legal action, suing Ailes personally after a clause in her contract with Fox News made it impossible for her to sue the network. Since her departure from Fox, Carlson has been dealing with her own legal issues, and has been working to make workplaces safer for others.

Much of Carlson's efforts have been focused on the non-profit organization she co-founded, Lift Our Voices, which aims to create better workplaces in the United States through research, legislation, education, and more. One of the group's achievements came in 2022 when Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which was eventually signed into law.

In 2023, Carlson's lawsuit against Ailes was settled for a reported $20 million, and Fox News issued a public apology to their former employee. Due to an ironclad non-disclosure agreement, Carlson can't speak much about her own work experience, but she does hope to encourage others to speak up when they can. "I may never own my own voice," Carlson said in an interview with Forbes. "But I still have power to make sure that other people do." Carlson added, "Read everything carefully, and if you see a forced arbitration clause, try to negotiate it out. If that's not possible, at least you'll be aware of what you're signing."

One of Fox News' biggest draws of its daytime programming is "The Five," an hour-long program that features five panelists — Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Jeanine Pirro, and a rotating co-host — to discuss the political happenings of the day. The program has been on since 2011, and it once featured Geraldo Rivera as a co-host. But in 2023, Rivera shared on X, "I got fired from @TheFive so I quit Fox. After 23 years tomorrow Fox and Friends could be my last appearance on the network. Thanks for the memories." The appearance was indeed his last time on the network.

A few weeks later, Rivera appeared on "The View" and opened up about some of the issues that led to his departure from Fox News. "My appearances, I had two, three appearances scheduled weekly, then bi-weekly, then monthly, then they kind of disappeared, they were canceled in the last day right before I was supposed to go on. So, I was really ticked off," Rivera said, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, adding that he had a poor relationship with a male colleague which added to his issues at the network. "I said, 'Well, stuff it, if you fired me from the No. 1 show, then I'm going to quit.' And that's basically what happened," Rivera recounted of his conversation with Fox News executives after being told he was off "The Five." Geraldo Rivera has a long history in political news — both written and on-air — so he didn't have much trouble finding new gigs. Since leaving Fox News, Rivera has been juggling writing columns for PoliticsNY, appearing on CNN to add commentary, and acting as a correspondent on NewsNation.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).