THE DARK SIDE OF TELEVISION: 9 Most HATED Hosts and Their Scandalous On-Air Statements, and Sean Hannity Isn’t the Most Hated
Nine presenters on American television have caused a stir more than the rest of their colleagues.
With news coverage becoming enhancingly more biased and opinions being spewed in all directions, news hosts have been at the forefront of scrutiny.
Various news anchor’s on-air remarks have caused audiences to get enraged and call for the firing of a few after “callous” comments were made.
Here is a look at the anchors who have gained the most critics in recent years.
Brian Williams
Despite leaving NBC four years ago, Brian Williams is still amongst the most-talked about anchors.
In 2015, the 66-year-old host received immense backlash after he admitted to exaggerating his reporting regarding the Iraq War. Originally, he had claimed he was aboard a Chinook helicopter that was hit by enemy fire in Iraq in 2003. In actuality, he was in a different helicopter that was nowhere near the one that was hit. He hadn’t revealed the truth until crew members involved in the accident challenged his reporting.
Don Lemon
Don Lemon is another anchor who left a notable on-air legacy, though it has been marred by controversy.
The former CNN anchor, 59, was involved in multiple controversies during his time on the news show. One of the most significant ones involved remarks on Republican politician Nikki Haley. During a discussion on age in politics during a segment of CNN This Morning, Lemon said the then 51-year-old was “not in her prime,” adding that women’s “prime” tend to be in their 20s, 30s and maybe 40s. After that, he was widely criticized as sexist and was fired from CNN two months later.
Brian Kilmeade
With his consistent appearance on the Fox News weekday segment Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade has had his fair share of controversy.
The 61-year-old presenter recently caused an uproar during a discussion about the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian woman who was fatally stabbed on a train in North Carolina. After finding out that the murderer was reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia and had 14 prior criminal arrests, Brian had said unhoused people with mental illness should either accept publicly funded programs or be “locked up.”
He added, “Or involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill ‘em.”
His comment caused immense backlash with a few viewers even putting together a Change petition that is titled, “Fire Brian Kilmeade for his harmful comments about homeless people.”
Greg Gutfeld
While Greg Gutfeld is one of the most beloved Fox News hosts, he is also one of the most despised as well.
The 61-year-old host’s most widely discussed controversies occurred two years ago. While on The Five in July 2023, he argued that one reason Jews survived concentration camps was due to “utility.”
“You had to be useful. Utility. Utility kept you alive,” he said, referencing Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning.
His comments received widespread condemnation from Jewish organizations, historians and even fellow co-workers from Fox News.
Megyn Kelly
Megyn Kelly, 54, doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind and creating controversy.
Despite making contentious comments on a regular basis, there was one in particular that seemed to have lent a hand into the cancellation of her daytime talk show, Megyn Kelly Today. In October 2018, she defended the use of blackface in Halloween costumes as “OK in some instances.” The remarks were widely condemned as racist and insensitive. NBC cancelled her show just a few weeks later.
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson’s biggest controversy was a major factor in his departure from Fox News.
In 2023, the Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit against Fox News over false claims that its voting machines were used to rig or alter the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Within internal memos, Carlson, 56, was amongst the hosts who expressed doubts about the claims but continued to report on them. His show was cancelled around the time the settlement came out.
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow has been met with a few critics during her time on air.
One comment the MSNBC host, 52, made in 2019 put her in the middle of a $10 million defamation case. One America News sued Rachel, NBCUniversal and MSNBC after she falsely claimed the network was “paid Russian propaganda. She referenced an article that linked a OAN employee to Sputnik News, which is linked to the Russian government. The case was eventually dismissed.
Bill O’Reilly
Bill O’Reilly left Fox News with his name tainted by multiple sexual harassment allegations.
In April 2017, the 76-year-old host and the news channel were scrutinized after it was reported they had allegedly paid out about $13 million to five women who claimed harassment or inappropriate behavior. The revelations caused intense backlash and advertisers to pull their ads from his show, The O’Reilly Factor. The news channel ultimately decided to sever ties with the host.
Sean Hannity
Another one of Fox News’ most popular presenters, Sean Hannity, also has a wide list of critics.
The 63-year-old host had lost some of his followers after a 2018 federal court hearing had revealed he was a client of Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen. The host had never spoken about his affiliation to the lawyer but did defend his actions on his show, Hannity, multiple times. After this revelation, many believed this was a breach of his journalistic ethics, causing some to steer away from his coverage.