Geraldo Rivera Makes Final Fox News Appearance After Being Fired From The Five: ‘I Want to Leave Thinking About How Wonderful Everyone Has Been’
And that’s a wrap on Geraldo Rivera.
Fox News bid adieu to Rivera and his iconic mustache (see set photo below) during Friday’s edition of Fox & Friends, offering the veteran broadcaster an opportunity to reflect on his 22-year stint on the conservative cable news channel.
More from TVLine
YES Network Cameraman Struck in Head by Errant Throw During Yankees vs. Orioles Game - Watch
Stranger Things Drops a Screen-Shattering Teaser for Its Next Iteration
Geraldo Rivera Says He Quit Fox News After Being Fired From The Five - Friday Sendoff Planned
“I feel so verklempt already,” Rivera said at the top of the segment. “I am leaving Fox, my dear friends. I was fired from The Five, so then I said, ‘I might as well resign totally,’ and I quit. And today is my last day. But I want to leave not thinking about those things; I want to leave thinking about how wonderful everyone has been to me…. We have shared so many experiences.
“It started with 9/11,” the former war correspondent pointed out. “The reason I came here was because I had a great show… on CNBC, but they wouldn’t let me go to war. [Former Fox News chairman and CEO] Roger Ailes, who was our boss at the time, had earlier been my boss at CNBC, and he said, ‘OK, I’ll let you be a war correspondent if you work for half pay…’ and it took me around the world. Life takes you strange places, but it established a relationship with Fox that people would not ordinarily think of as a natural relationship because of political ideologies and so forth — me being more on the progressive side than many of my colleagues — but it worked out. Everybody was open-minded, open-hearted… I was treated as a family member here, and I hope it was reciprocated. There are ways to work as colleagues, and then there are ways to work as family, and I really do think that we became family.”
The segment ended with a montage chronicling Rivera’s 50+ years in broadcasting — including clips from his eponymous daytime talk show (featuring former president Donald Trump), the infamous opening of Al Capone’s vault and his reality-TV stints on Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing With the Stars — and a series of pre-taped goodbyes from members of the Fox News family.
Will you miss Rivera on Fox News? Hit the comments with your reactions to Friday’s farewell.
Best of TVLine
Summer TV Calendar: Your Guide to 85+ Season and Series Premieres
Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Showtime Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?)
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
