Top 20 TV Hosts Who Destroyed Their Careers on Air

Top 20 TV Hosts Who Destroyed Their Careers on Air

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 TV Hosts Who Destroyed Their Careers on Air.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the controversial moments that got on-air personalities in a lot of trouble.

Did you happen to see any of these live? Let us know in the comments below!

#20: Jimmy the Greek

The stage name for Jimmy Snyder, Jimmy the Greek was a television personality who kinda, sorta, maybe supported illegal gambling. A Las Vegas bookmaker, Snyder would appear on CBS’s “The NFL Today” and predict the scores. This would thereby help the bookies in Vegas set the odds for particular games. He served with CBS for twelve years before getting fired in 1988. In January of that year, he was giving an interview with Washington’s WRC-TV when he made highly offensive remarks about African American athletes. After his opinions drew immediate condemnation, even Snyder himself seemed remorseful. In the end, he was fired by CBS and later tried suing them for breach of contract. He didn’t win.

#19: Lara Logan

For a while, South African journalist Lara Logan had a good career and even served as Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for CBS. But everything collapsed on October 27, 2013 when she appeared on “60 Minutes” to report on the 2012 Benghazi attack. Logan’s report was riddled with factual errors. After the incident, she apologized on “CBS This Morning” for her shoddy journalism and blamed an inaccurate source in the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi. She was forced to take a leave of absence and later left CBS entirely. Logan then fell into far-right beliefs and started speaking publicly about various conspiracy theories. She also landed a job at Fox News, but she was fired by them as well in 2022.

#18: Dan Rather

When it comes to iconic names in news, it doesn’t get much bigger than Dan Rather. He anchored “CBS Evening News” for over two decades and won eight Peabodys. Unfortunately, his legendary career was overshadowed by an incident in the mid 2000s. In 2004, Rather reported on the “Killian documents.” These memos were supposed to be official proof that George W. Bush had a rocky stint as a member of the Texas Air National Guard. However, it was quickly revealed that these memos were a modern forgery. The affair severely tarnished Rather’s reputation with the network. After “retiring” as an anchorman, he was fired from CBS entirely. While he went on to other ventures, his career with the big network was seemingly damaged beyond repair.

#17: Rick Sanchez

After much local work, Rick Sanchez earned national attention when he was hired to work for CNN. He eventually became the station’s anchor and hosted his own show called “Rick’s List,” which drew acclaim for its unique integration of social media. But his steady rise came to a screeching halt due to a radio appearance. While Sanchez was on Sirius XM’s “Stand Up With Pete Dominick”. he made negative remarks about both Jon Stewart and Jewish people. He called Stewart “a bigot” (a term he later retracted) and claimed Jews were not an oppressed minority. Sanchez was fired from CNN a day after the comments went public. After losing his job, he made a number of public apologies.

#16: Glen Kuiper

For nearly twenty years, Kuiper was virtually seen as the play-by-play voice of the Oakland Athletics. But his career trajectory changed on May 5, 2023. Kuiper was in Kansas City for a game and mentioned on air that he had visited the city’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. But when speaking about the location, he said a racial slur as the first word of the title. Kuiper was quick to apologize and claimed that he misspoke. At the same time, the team’s official social media accounts condemned his use of the slur. Following an internal investigation, the longtime announcer was fired from the network.

#15: Natasha Exelby

While you might not know her name, you may have seen her viral clip. Natasha Exelby is a journalist who once worked for ABC Australia News. During one live show, the camera cut back to her while she was mindlessly playing with her pen. Exelby quickly realized her error with a big reaction and immediately went to segue into the next segment. While the clip was widely shared on social media as a funny clip, it was no laughing matter for Exelby. Since she was freelancing at the time, ABC Australia chose not to offer additional on air shifts. Exelby’s treatment after the pen incident earned her more support than jeers from her industry peers.

#14: Danyelle Sargent

If there’s one cardinal rule in broadcasting, it’s that you should not swear. Danyelle Sargent was reminded of this rule when she worked for ESPN. She was doing a live broadcast on March 9, 2006 when the camera cut to pre-taped footage of a basketball game. Unbeknownst to her, Sargent’s microphone remained hot during the broadcast. This paved the way for everyone to hear her drop a massive f-bomb. And this wasn’t a “eh, maybe the viewers missed it” kind of thing. No, this was loud, very clear, and unmistakable. When it came time to renew her contract, ESPN declined.

#13: Don Lemon

Journalist Don Lemon had been steadily working in news since 2006, when he joined CNN as a correspondent. But at certain points in his career, he drew criticism for his negative opinions about women. Everything came to a head on February 19, 2023. On that day, Lemon criticized politician Nikki Haley by saying, “A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” This comment earned Lemon widespread condemnation. It also sparked a report from Variety which showcased his history of misogynistic behavior. He was subsequently fired on April 24, 2023.

#12: Rush Limbaugh

Most people know the name Rush Limbaugh for his popular talk radio show. But did you know that he also worked for ESPN as a football commentator? We wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, because the stint certainly didn’t last long. During one on-air segment, Limbaugh criticized Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. He called the athlete overrated and stated that the player received additional praise for being Black. The comments earned much criticism, and some called Limbaugh racist. The on air personality later claimed that he was trying to take shots at the media coverage. At the same time, Limbaugh also announced his resignation from ESPN just a few weeks into his tenure.

#11: Sharon Osbourne

This television personality’s gift for gab landed her a job on, well, “The Talk.” The CBS daytime features a number of individuals discussing recent news and human interest stories. In a 2021 episode, the hosts discussed Meghan Markle and the harsh comments made against her by Piers Morgan. Osbourne defended aspects of Morgan’s behavior and got into a vicious fight with her co-host, Sheryl Underwood. To make matters worse, negative comments that Osbourne had previously made about Markle resurfaced. The argument and older soundbites convinced CBS to put the show on hiatus. They later announced that Osbourne’s conduct did not represent a “respectful workplace”. Not long after the incident, the host resigned from the show.

#10: Chris Matthews

Best known for his political roundtable show “Hardball with Chris Matthews” that launched in 1997, this host’s involvement in politics and journalism actually goes back decades. So, after a long career in the public eye, Matthews was already at the point of contemplating retirement. But a bizarre rant likening Bernie Sanders’ Nevada caucus win to the Nazi invasion of France brought on his retirement much sooner than planned. His comments sparked calls for resignation, and coincided with a new column published about inappropriate comments he’d allegedly made towards journalist Laura Bassett. Facing the fire from two fronts, Matthews met with his bosses at MSNBC and later resigned on air after offering apologies for his behavior.

#9: Paula Abdul

Abdul’s career soared as one of the original judges on “American Idol,” but there were reports in the mid-2000s that behind the scenes she was struggling with substance use. A now-infamous Fox News interview in 2007 only encouraged these rumors. Paula slurred her words and struggled with her balance, to the point where Fox News had to address her behavior on air. Two years later, “Ladies Home Journal” would publish an interview in which Abdul said she was overusing pain medication; Abdul claimed they’d fabricated quotes. Rumors also emerged that she’d clashed with “Idol” management, and Abdul and the show parted ways that same year. She’s been jumping from short-lived hosting gigs, reality TV and TV movies ever since.

#8: Angel Cardenas

We’ve mentioned foot-in-mouth disease and how dangerous it can be on live TV, but this next entry can only be described as a case of whole body-in-mouth disease. Sacramento reporter Angel Cardenas was getting the low down on an upcoming classic car show when – after noticing that he was alone in a room full of beautiful cars – he decided to make himself right at home, climbing on one car and possibly denting another. Cardenas was fired, obviously, but we can’t help but wonder if he wanted to be fired the whole time acting like this… Like, the dude didn’t even tuck his shirt in before going live on TV! He was either trying too hard or not trying hard enough…

#7: Paula Deen

After Paula Deen admitted to using racial slurs, her emergency PR strategy . . . was baffling. Essentially, it consisted of: showing up on National TV, crying and apologizing profusely, and making Biblical references about no one being without sin. This apology interview didn’t sit well with her critics, and nor did it win back any of her fleeing business partners. In fact, MORE businesses fled from “Deen Island” after this weak attempt at an apology, with both Caesars Entertainment and Walmart dropping her shortly after. In a short time span, one of the most popular celebrity chefs on the planet went from being on National TV with The Food Network, to appearing on smaller, local cable channels, and now self-publishing on YouTube.

#6: Chris Harrison

For nearly twenty years, Chris Harrison served as host of “The Bachelor” and its many spin-offs. Between 2002 and 2021, Harrison guided us through the joys of love and the pains of loss. But speaking of loss, Harrison lost his job following an “Extra” interview with Rachel Lindsay. “The Bachelor” contestant Rachael Kirkconnell had ignited controversy for liking photos of the Confederate flag and attending an Antebellum South plantation-themed party. Harrison defended Kirkconnell during the interview with “Extra”, prompting widespread criticism and forcing him to take a leave of absence from “The Bachelor.” After a few months of silence, it was announced that Harrison was permanently stepping down as host.

#5: Kelly Osbourne

If you never wanted to be invited back to co-host a show again, we couldn’t think of a better strategy than Kelly Osbourne’s when she appeared on “The View” in 2015. Responding to Donald Trump’s racist description of Mexican immigrants, Osbourne wondered who would clean Trump’s toilet. Now, we know she was trying to make a point about Trump’s attitude toward America’s Mexican community, and that her message got hella-twisted from her brain to her mouth. But we don’t foresee her being invited back to host “The View” anytime soon. Her career hasn’t exactly been stellar since, as she left “Fashion Police” that same year and has been hopping between competition shows and family endeavors since.

#4: Megyn Kelly

Not even a 15 year run as a news reporter and TV host could save the high-profile Kelly when she defended blackface on her show “Megyn Kelly Today” in 2018. In a discussion about why donning blackface is inappropriate on Halloween, Megyn failed to see the seriousness of it, saying it was routine when she was a kid and questioned whether it was racist. She received slight pushback from her co-hosts at the time, but the worst of the backlash came via Twitter and Kelly was forced to apologize on air the very next day. The apology was for naught, as only three days after making the remarks, Megyn’s show was cancelled, and she was fired a few months later.

#3: A.J. Clemente

File this one under: So Funny He Should Have Kept His Job… Rookie newscaster Clemente was on his first day at the anchor desk – and super stressed – when he dropped an F-Bomb just as the show was going live. And, the rest, is viral video infamy! It was so popular that A.J. even did a media tour talking about the epic gaffe. And, while we understand why A.J. couldn’t have kept his job in live TV after such a careless mistake, we’re still laughing at this video all these years later; and, seeing as this single video has brought us so much joy, we really hope A.J. landed on his feet after being canned and is enjoying a happy, healthy life.

#2: Brian Williams

With the news industry in such a precarious place in the era of social media over the past decade, finding out that respected newsman Brian Williams lied in order to make his reporting sound more heroic came as an epic letdown in 2015. Williams made up a story about him being on a helicopter that came under fire in Iraq in 2003, and the public (and professional) outburst when it was revealed this wasn’t true forced NBC to suspend him for six months without pay. After so many years at the helm of NBC’s flagship news show in “NBC Nightly News,” Williams’ fabrications led to his demotion to MSNBC where he’s been ever since.

#1: Billy Bush

Bush was made co-host on NBC’s “Today” after many years of co-hosting “Access Hollywood Live.” But his tenure at “Today” was short-lived after a previously unreleased tape of himself and (soon-to-be President) Donald Trump was uncovered that contained some pretty heinous remarks about women. Now, as we all know, Trump was definitely the most offensive in this recording – what with his now infamous line. But Bush was also widely criticized for encouraging Trump’s misogynistic behavior; and, he was later suspended from “Today” and eventually fired from NBC entirely. Bush wasn’t heard from for almost three whole years after the incident either, until it was announced that he’d be taking over as host of “Extra” from Mario Lopez in 2019.