Amid a shake-up at Fox News, an ill-considered comment and the abrupt cancellation of last week’s scheduled appearances on “The Five” led many to speculate that guest contributor Geraldo Rivera will no longer serve as a panelist.
Rivera, 79, responded to rumors in a series of tweets on Wednesday, assuring fans he would return.
Questions about Rivera’s future on Fox News were sparked when Fox News Media executives fired Tucker Carlson, host of the No. 1 prime time show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
On April 26, two days after Tucker’s termination, Rivera threw Carlson under the bus by saying Carlson was guilty of spewing “bulls***” on his show.
“I don’t wish ill on anybody,” Rivera tweeted, “but there is no doubt–as I said at the time–Tucker Carlson’s perverse January 6 conspiracy theory was ‘bullshit.'”
Rivera added: “Having lost the election, President Trump incited an insurrection that sought to undermine our Constitutional process.”
Greg Gutfeld, a Fox News host and permanent member of “The Five,” took issue with Rivera’s tweet and responded: “You’re a class act, Geraldo,” Gutfeld responded. “A real man of the people.”
Rivera’s scheduled appearances on “The Five” were canceled days after Gutfeld’s tweet. Many suspected the influential Gutfeld, recently elevated in the Fox lineup following Carlson’s dismissal, factored into that decision. Rivera confirmed the change in schedule on Twitter.
“I’m sure there’s a good reason,” he assured his fans.
Earlier this week, Rivera posted a photo of himself on vacation, adding to speculation that he would not return to the show.
When a Twitter user commented, “No more The Five,” Rivera assured he would return. “See you Next Tuesday and Wednesday on The Five.”
The shake-up at Fox News includes the dismissal of Tucker Carlson, the recent release of host Dan Bongino, moving Sean Hannity to Tucker’s old 8 p.m. prime-time slot, dropping the “Fox News Tonight” show, and elevating Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters to the prime-time hour.
Unclear at this time is Laura Ingraham’s future at Fox. Ingraham currently hosts “The Ingraham Angle.”
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