News Anchors Who Suffered Major Career Downfalls After Getting Fired

The following article includes allegations of sexual assault.

When a well-known TV personality is given a pink slip, headlines tend to surface — and the stories that unfold often detail not just the firing itself but the circumstances that led to it.

In many cases, the firing of a news anchor is the result of a scandal. Famous anchors have been axed for behaving inappropriately, breaching journalistic ethics, and even engineering their own ouster. Other times, though, an anchor's termination has resulted from corporate restructuring or something similarly benign — yet no less fatal to the TV personality's career.

Whatever the reason, rebounding from the public humiliation of being fired is a process — and one that's gone better for some than others. After hitting the absolute pinnacle of television news and then being flung from that perch, the only direction is downward. With that in mind, read on for a look at some news anchors who suffered major career downfalls after getting fired.

Ann Curry officially joined NBC's "Today" in 1997 as newsreader. She held that role until 2011, when she was bumped up to co-host alongside Matt Lauer. However, when ratings dropped, network executives were quick to blame Curry. In June 2012, Curry announced she was exiting the show; however, she would remain a member of the NBC News team (and she reportedly received a $10-million payout). The Intelligencer later revealed that her ouster was allegedly part of a network plot code-named Operation Bambi, which allegedly involved co-anchor Matt Lauer. 

Curry exited NBC News in 2015, with plans to launch her own production company. She re-emerged in 2018 as host of "We'll Meet Again," a PBS series that put a newsy spin on historical events. Then, in 2019 she hosted "Chasing the Cure," a medical series airing on the TNT and TBS cable channels. While promoting the show, she told Variety there was one aspect of her time on "Today" that she held no nostalgia for. "I don't miss the hours," she said. "I now recognize how much sleep I was missing." 

Four years after "Chasing the Cure," Curry interviewed author Min Jin Lee for PBS series "Art Talk." As for what Curry has been doing since then, well, she's largely flown under the radar. Among the news anchors who disappeared without a trace, her post-"Today" life is certainly a radical departure from the days when she appeared on network television five mornings per week. However, she hasn't abandoned journalism. In April 2026, Curry wrote an op-ed for The New York Times, highlighting the plight of refugees who'd fled war-torn Sudan.

Ed Henry joined Fox News in 2011, initially covering the White House. In 2019, he was bumped up to co-anchor of "America's Newsroom" — a promotion that made him one of the cable news network's most recognizable faces. That gig, however, didn't last for long. In July 2020, Henry joined the ranks of Fox News personalities who were fired for their inappropriate behavior. The network issued a memo to staff revealing that an investigation into a complaint about Henry determined he'd engaged in "willful sexual misconduct," which resulted in his immediate termination (via Politico).

Shortly after his firing, Henry was sued by former Fox News employee Jennifer Eckhart, claiming that he'd sexually assaulted her. Fox News was initially listed as a defendant, but a judge dismissed that part of the lawsuit. Eckhart's lawsuit against Henry was settled in 2025, shortly before a civil trial would have started.

Henry landed on his feet, hired by small cable news network Real America's Voice. He left there in 2023 when he was offered a job with right-wing cable channel Newsmax to host his own show, "The Big Take." However, this also represented a big career dip, given that Fox News attracted an average viewership of more than 2 million during January 2026, while Newsmax viewership during that same period was considerably lower.  In any case, it's unlikely that Henry will ever be invited back to his former home, given that he responded to his firing by filing a defamation suit against Fox News and its CEO, Suzanne Scott, claiming she'd "publicly smeared" him. That suit was later dismissed.

By early 2015, Brian Williams sat at the peak of NBC News as anchor of the network's "NBC Nightly News" broadcast. Meanwhile, he'd also become celebrated for his sense of humor, which had made him a sought-after talk show guest. But then reports emerged that he'd fibbed about being in a helicopter struck by a grenade during the Iraq War, when he'd actually witnessed a different helicopter get hit. NBC responded by suspending him for six months, bringing in Lester Holt as his replacement. When that six months ended, Holt remained in the anchor chair while Williams — who'd recently re-upped his contract — was relegated to MSNBC (since renamed MS Now), where he hosted an 11 p.m. show, "The Eleventh Hour." 

In 2021, he revealed he wouldn't be renewing his contract with NBC News, which ended that December. His time slot was given to Stephanie Ruhle, who launched her own show. "I will probably find it impossible to be silent and stay away from you and lights and cameras after I experiment with relaxation and find out what I've missed, and what's out there," he told viewers during his final broadcast. 

True to his word, Williams signed with hotshot Hollywood talent agency CAA in 2023, reportedly to find him new opportunities. One of those became a reality in April 2026, when Williams was tapped to host "We're Back! With Brian Williams," a podcast set to stream on Netflix. "With scientists predicting that every American will have a podcast by 2030, I thought it was time to get in the game," he quipped in a statement to Netflix's Tudum.

For decades, Charlie Rose was renowned as master of the long-form, in-depth interview, thanks to the self-titled PBS talk show he began hosting in 1991. In 2012, he joined Oprah Winfrey's best friend Gayle King as co-anchor of "CBS This Morning." That high-profile run came to a screeching halt in November 2017, when eight women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct. Rose was subsequently fired by CBS, while his PBS show was axed, and his deal with Bloomberg was canceled. A few months later, several more women shared allegations.

Unlike other male news anchors who'd been hit with similar accusations, Rose didn't deny anything. Instead, he insisted he'd simply misinterpreted those scenarios. "I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken," Rose said in a statement (via NBC News), in which he apologized and admitted to being "greatly embarrassed."

As for whatever happened to Rose, he reportedly retreated from Manhattan to his mansion in Long Island. "He's a broken, powerful, old man surrounded by people who love him, but the truth is, he is desperately lonely," a source told The Hollywood Reporter. He'd reportedly been pitching an interview show in which he would interview other men who'd been at the center of #MeToo scandals, but nothing ever became of it. Rose emerged in 2022, with an online interview with billionaire Warren Buffett. After that, he resumed conducting interviews — which didn't appear on TV but on his website and were certainly not of the same caliber as the A-list celebs he'd been accustomed to.

Steve Kmetko began anchoring "E! News" in 1994, and held that post until he was fired in 2002. More than two decades later, he revealed the circumstances behind his firing in the debut episode of his podcast, "Still Here Hollywood." According to Kmetko, he was in the midst of negotiating a new contract when he left a message on his website asking viewers to write to the network, instructing them to declare that they enjoyed watching him. When he was confronted about that message, and asked if he'd written it on his designated work computer, he denied it — and when that was proven to be untrue, he was abruptly fired. "They refused to let me say goodbye to the audience," Kmetko recalled. "I was asked to leave Hollywood 20 years ago. Let's just say it wasn't my choice."

He tried to land other TV gigs but was continually told that he'd become too familiar as the face of E! After his agent told him that his attempts were futile, he left L.A. and returned to Chicago to care for his aging parents. With no broadcasting gigs on the horizon, he took a job at an Apple Store. "I was the oldest salesperson on the floor there," he recalled. 

More recently, Kmetko has been focused on his podcast. Since launching "Still Here Hollywood" in 2024, he's interviewed such celebrities as "M*A*S*H" alum Mike Farrell, former "Melrose Place" star Laura Leighton, and Ted Lange of "The Love Boat."

After years of working as a local news anchor in his native Canada, Linden Soles was hired by CNN in 1993. Soles had established cred as a journalist, having previously distinguished himself by winning a prestigious Peabody Award for his report, "AIDS and You," for Vancouver's CKVU-TV, which he both wrote and hosted.

While helming the CNN anchor desk in 1997, Soles was among the first to report the tragic death of Princess Diana. He gained a small measure of notoriety from that broadcast, however, when a person purporting to be an eyewitness turned out to be crank caller. Soles remained with CNN until 1998, when the arrival of new CNN president Rick Kaplan led to an on-air shakeup that saw him and another anchor fired. "We had 24 different anchors on the air," Kaplan told the Los Angeles Times, explaining why they were let go. "That's too many people for viewers to connect with."

Soles has maintained quite the low profile since then, but he did pop up in Albert Brooks' 2005 film "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World," in which he played a news anchor. Soles also narrated a 2008 true-crime documentary, "Natalee Holloway: Unrevealed Time Lines."

For years, Terry Moran had been a fixture on ABC, familiar to viewers as anchor of "ABC News Live," having previously spent several years as the network's chief foreign correspondent. That all came to an end in July 2025, when Moran took to social media and tweeted his opinion that Donald Trump was a "world class hater," while using the same description for Trump administration adviser Stephen Miller when writing that Miller's "hatreds are his spiritual nourishment."

ABC took immediate action. "ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others," the network said in a statement issued to CNN. "The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards — as a result, Terry Moran has been suspended pending further evaluation." Two days later, Moran was fired. 

Despite that since-deleted tweet ending his lengthy tenure at ABC News, Moran told The New York Times that he felt no remorse about what he'd written. "I don't think you should ever regret telling the truth," he said. "And I don't." Following his parting of ways with ABC, Moran continued his work as a journalist — albeit no longer on network television, but on Substack.

In 2020, T.J. Holmes was partnered with Amy Robach to co-anchor "GMA3," the third hour of ABC's "Good Morning America." The chemistry between the two was palpable — and not just when the camera's red light was on. In 2023, rumors began circulating that the pair — each of whom was married to someone else — were having a hot-and-heavy affair. That rumor proved to be true, and ABC fired both of them. "After several productive conversations with Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, about different options, we all agreed it's best for everyone that they move on from ABC News," read an ABC News statement to Variety.

Both Holmes and Robach divorced their respective spouses and became a full-fledged, out-in-the-open couple. With no job prospects on the horizon, they embarked on a strategy employed by many  underemployed celebrities: They launched a podcast, aptly titled "Amy and T.J." While there was initially a great deal of curiosity, listeners dwindled as time passed. After just one month, the podcast that debuted at No. 5 in the charts had dropped as low as No. 234. "There was a ton of interest in what they were going to say about their affair and being cut from ABC in the aftermath, but I'm not sure anyone expected that interest to continue much beyond that," a source told The U.S. Sun.

In September 2024, perhaps not coincidentally, the podcast retooled, expanding with the addition of a segment called "Morning Run," in which they'd discuss various topics, ranging from news headlines to lifestyle fluff. As of April 2026, "Amy and T.J." was not among Spotify's top 100 podcasts.

When Shepard Smith decided to exit Fox News in 2019, it was on his own terms. Speaking with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Smith admitted he was well aware of Fox News' right-wing bias but explained that he'd stuck with it for as long as he did (some 23 years) because he believed he was serving an important purpose for the network's viewers. "If you feel like the Fox viewers were getting mis- or disinformation, I was there to make sure that they got it straight," he said (via The Hollywood Reporter). After leaving, he viewed some of his former colleagues with disdain. "I don't know how some people sleep at night," he mused.

In July 2020, Smith was hired by CNBC to anchor his own evening show, five nights a week. "I spoke to all the networks, it was this one that said, 'What we want to do is a facts-only newscast,'" Smith told The Hollywood Reporter of his new employer. A mere two years later, however, CNBC axed Smith's show, "The News with Shepard Smith." As for Smith? He was also no longer employed at CNBC.

In 2024, he returned to the spotlight, albeit briefly. He teamed up with another fired new anchor, Brian Williams, to anchor coverage of the U.S. presidential election for Amazon's Prime Video streaming service. 

Bill O'Reilly occupied a rarified perch in the world of cable news with his Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," ranked as 2016's most-watched show on basic cable. That run of success, however, came to an abrupt end in 2017, when O'Reilly was hit with a whack of sexual harassment allegations, leading to revelations that he'd paid his various accusers a whopping $45 million for their silence. Despite his ratings growing even larger during the scandal, Fox News executives eventually decided he had to go, and O'Reilly was fired. 

Too toxic for TV, O'Reilly focused his efforts on his website, which includes his podcast, various essays, and all manner of branded merch, ranging from "Not Woke" Christmas tree ornaments to a "No Spin" polo shirt. To generate income, O'Reilly offers his fans three membership options: monthly ($6.95 per month), annual ($64.95 per year), and concierge ($94.95 per year). The latter offers the added bonus that O'Reilly himself will respond to members' emails.

In the debut of O'Reilly's "No Spin" podcast, launched shortly after his firing, O'Reilly hinted that there was more to what happened than had been reported (via CBS News): "But I can tell you that I'm very confident the truth will come out, and when it does, I don't know if you're going to be surprised — but I think you're going to be shaken, as I am." Nearly a decade later, fans were still waiting for that "truth" to be revealed.

Few news anchors have fallen as far and as fast as Matt Lauer. As co-host of NBC's flagship morning show "Today" for two decades, Lauer was beloved by the millions of viewers who welcomed him into their homes each morning. It all came crashing down in 2017, when he was accused of sexual misconduct, with an investigation concluding he'd displayed an ongoing pattern of sexually harassing women in the workplace. He was abruptly fired from a job that was then paying him a staggering $28 million per year. In 2019, graphic details emerged alleging he'd sexually assaulted a colleague, which Lauer vehemently denied. "It is categorically false, ignores the facts, and defies common sense," Lauer wrote in a statement to Deadline.

So, what has Lauer been doing following his "Today" show firing? In that statement, he explained he'd deliberately been maintaining a low profile in order to focus "on repairing my relationship with the people I love." Those efforts didn't work out when it came to his wife, Annette Roque, who filed for divorce in the summer of 2019. And while it may not have been one of those messy divorces that left celebs nearly penniless, Roque did reportedly walk away with a reported $20 million settlement.

Lauer has not returned to television, and likely never will. In 2024, a source told People that Lauer had recently been emerging from the self-imposed exile he'd been in since the scandal broke. "Over the past year, he's been reconnecting with friends and texting them and talking on the phone," said the source. Despite his lack of employment prospects, Lauer is hardly hurting financially, with a net worth estimated at $80 million.

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).