Fox News star Greg Gutfeld taunted former Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera over his recent claims that their “toxic relationship” led to his firing.
During a segment on “The View’s” Thursday episode, Rivera discussed his firing from the network’s popular show “The Five” and the strained dynamic with Gutfeld, although he studiously avoided mentioning him by name.
After airing the clip on his late-night show the same day, Gutfeld sarcastically responded, “Oh, poor thing. Instead of sympathy, maybe we should start a GoFundMe to find him a barber.”
“But I have to give him credit for finding a guest with a mustache bigger than our panelists. They sure are a hairy bunch,” he cracked on the ABC talk show’s all female cast.
Greg Gutfeld just wrecked Geraldo Rivera and The View: "Poor thing. In lieu of flowers we sent up a GoFundMe page to get him a barber. But I credit The View for finally finding a guest with a bigger mustache than their panelists. They're a hairy bunch." pic.twitter.com/XOFaoPv8u4
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) July 14, 2023
Rivera and Gutfeld had numerous personal disputes on “The Five,” with one particularly heated argument about abortion resulting in Rivera calling Gutfeld an “insulting punk” in May 2022. Gutfeld responded by saying Rivera was only making a fool of himself.
During his appearance on “The View,” Rivera expressed his belief that the network and “The Five” panelists always favored Gutfeld over him.
“I feel it was very unfair that our disputes were not judged objectively. Instead, he [Gutfeld] was consistently favored, while I faced suspensions in my appearances,” Rivera complained.
“They went from three times a week to less and less frequently until they were ultimately canceled on the day of my scheduled appearance. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated.”
Co-host Joy Behar interjected, “So we know it’s a guy?” referring to the colleague Rivera had the toxic relationship with.
“Yes, it’s a guy. It’s not Jeanine. I love Jeanine, I actually discovered Jeanine,” Rivera clarified, mentioning Fox personality Judge Jeanine Piro.
Former contributor Geraldo Rivera on the morale of journalists at Fox News after the Dominion lawsuit:
“It seems to me there is a period now of fear at Fox … The high-profile journalists are fine. What happens to the staffers — young and old — I wonder and I worry about them.” pic.twitter.com/1bXJCYTofv
— The Recount (@therecount) July 13, 2023
Regarding the revelation of which host caused the toxic atmosphere, Rivera noted, “I might get there eventually,” leaving internet sleuths to connect the dots for now.
Rivera was informed of his firing from “The Five” in June by two Fox News executives, who did offer him opportunities to participate in other programs.
However, the 80-year-old mustachioed television personality made the decision to leave the network entirely after working there for 23 years.
He explained his reasoning, saying, “If they fired me from their top-rated show, then I’m walking away. That’s essentially what happened.”
Rivera also expressed his unforgiving stance towards former Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson for promoting “conspiracy theories” about the Capitol riot on January 6th.
While acknowledging Carlson’s writing skills and charisma, Rivera criticized his shift into a realm of dubious conspiracy theories.
“I will never forgive Tucker.” Geraldo Rivera unloads on former colleague Tucker Carlson. (Video: ABC) pic.twitter.com/LWLAcfFoAY
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 13, 2023
“Fox is a powerful platform, and once you lose that, you’re just another voice in the wilderness competing with countless others who have podcasts, etc. Will Tucker remain the same character? I don’t know.”
“I don’t like to be unkind, but I will never forgive Tucker for what he said about January 6th, just as I would never vote for Donald Trump,” he concluded.
Rivera claimed he would dedicate the rest of his career as a journalist to making sure the former president never wins back the White House.
Former contributor Geraldo Rivera on whether Fox News still has credibility after the Dominion case:
“I understand the bitterness people feel toward the network … They knew it happened and they allowed people to promote it … But everybody at Fox was not engaged in that lie.” pic.twitter.com/mLfxZGraed
— The Recount (@therecount) July 13, 2023
“He lost the election and became a crazy guy,” he remarked about Trump.
Rivera also said that former Trump supporter Ray Epps was justified for filing a defamation lawsuit against Fox News for reporting that he was a “federal agent who incited the attack on the Capitol” on Jan. 6.
“I understand the bitterness that people feel toward the network for really, I think, disgraceful, purposeful ignorance of what really happened,” he began.
“They knew it happened and allowed … people to promote it and it was absolutely absurd.”
He accused Trump of encouraging “those people to go there and ruin their lives, attacking the capitol of the United States.”
Rivera stated that Fox News, along with the rest of the media, “knew that.”
“They should have stuck with that,” he said about the network. “It is an embarrassment that will be very hard for Fox to live down. They will have to pay.”