Following a tweet on Wednesday morning that revealed he was leaving five of the, Geraldo Rivera issued a follow-up statement revealing that he had left the Fox News political commentary series rather than be fired. The veteran TV personality said appearing on the show was no longer “worth it for me”.
five of the is a late-afternoon program on Fox News featuring conservative panelists Jeanine Pirro, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, and Greg Gutfeld, and rotating “liberal” panelists Rivera, Jessica Tarlov, and Harold Ford Jr. The latter three have served as rotating hosts. since Juan Williams left the series in 2021. The series, which has been running since 2011, boasts some of the highest ratings in cable news.
“In the morning, it’s official, I left @The Five. My last scheduled appearances are Thursday and Friday, June 29th and 30th. Rivera tweeted Wednesday morning. “It was a great race and I appreciate the opportunity. Being the odd man out isn’t always easy. For now, I’m still a general correspondent.”
In an interview with The Associated Press following the announcement on Twitter, Rivera cited growing dissatisfaction with the series as the reason for his departure. “There was a growing tension that transcended editorial differences and personal grudges and grievances,” he said. “It’s not worth it to me.”
“It’s been a difficult journey, but it’s also been an exciting adventure that spanned several years,” he said. “I hope it’s not my last adventure.” The veteran TV personality noted that while it was his choice to leave, Fox News “didn’t run after me to say, ‘Geraldo, please come back.’
As his tweet says, Rivera will continue to be a “general correspondent” at Fox News. His contract is set to expire in January 2025. Rivera turns 80 on July 4, 2023.
In May, Rivera revealed that two of them future appearances on five of the was canceled on Twitter. He said The Associated Press on June 21 that these cancellations were suspensions.
The suspensions came after Rivera said on Twitter that Fox News host Tucker Carlson downplayed the January 6 uprising as “bullshit,” prompting Gutfeld to respond: “You’re a class act Geraldo, a real man of the people “. Carlson had claimed that the violent crowd were merely “visitors” to the Capitol Building. (Carlson was fired from the network effective immediately on April 24, with Tucker Carlson tonight being canceled together with it.)
Like Williams before him, Rivera frequently sparred with Gutfeld on the show. During a heated exchange about abortion rights in 2022, Rivera called Gutfeld “an arrogant punk” on air. Rivera’s June 21 comments did not include any direct reference to Gutfeld.