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Fox News hosts react to the resignation of Roger Ailes: 'I am heartbroken he is gone'
(Roger Ailes outside of Fox's studios in Manhattan earlier in July.Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
High-profile Fox News hosts reacted with sadness to longtime CEO Roger Ailes' resignation on Thursday amid sexual-harassment allegations.
In an email to Business Insider, shortly after Ailes' resignation on Thursday, longtime Fox News host Chris Wallace said that he was saddened by Ailes' departure, but was heartened by 21st Century Fox executive Rupert Murdoch's decision to appoint himself the acting chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel.
"In almost 50 years in the news business, Roger Ailes is the best boss I have ever had," Wallace wrote.
"I admire him professionally. And I love him personally. I am heartbroken he is gone. Roger and Rupert came up with the concept of Fox News 20 years ago. I can't think of a better person to keep Fox News on track than Rupert," he wrote.
Former host and senior political analyst Brit Hume tweeted that he was saddened:
To people like myself who have worked with Roger Ailes at Fox News from the start, today's announcement is heartbreaking.
— Brit Hume (@brithume) July 21, 2016
Standing outside the Fox News studio at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, several reporters caught up with other longtime Fox hosts, who expressed disappointment at Ailes' departure.
"It feels bad" - Bret baier
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) July 21, 2016
Just asked Greta if she's going to stay "ha! I have a show to do" and walked out (she also said this is tough but impt Murdoch flew back"
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) July 21, 2016
Now huckabee talks - loves the guy he's been very good to me
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) July 21, 2016
As Politico's Hadas Gold noted, Fox News' press team was absent. The network's PR is known for the aggressive protectiveness of its talent and its frequent pushback on negative stories.
Ailes' resignation comes weeks after former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson claimed that she was fired from her show for rebuffing the CEO's sexual advances.
In a court filing earlier this month, Carlson's lawyers alleged that Ailes told her that the two "should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago" and called her a "man-hater" after she criticized her former "Fox & Friends" colleagues over demeaning jokes.
New York magazine reported earlier this week that Lachlan and James Murdoch, 21st Century Fox's respective executive chairman and CEO, decided to let Ailes go after multiple women at the network told internal investigators that the former CEO sexually harassed them.
In a statement on Thursday, Carlson's attorneys applauded the women at Fox who spoke out about Ailes' alleged harassment.
"Within just two weeks of her filing a lawsuit against Roger Ailes, Gretchen Carlson's extraordinary courage has caused a seismic shift in the media world," Nancy Erika Smith and Martin Hyman said.
"We hope that all businesses now understand that women will no longer tolerate sexual harassment and reputable companies will no longer shield those who abuse women. We thank all the brave women who spoke out about this issue. We will have more to say in coming days as events unfold," they said.
It's unclear whether Ailes' departure will affect the network's current lineup, though prominent hosts like Bret Baier, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, among others, have clauses in their contracts that would allow them to leave now that Ailes has resigned.
A number of Fox personalities have come to the former CEO's defense following Carlson's lawsuit.
In an op-ed article published by Business Insider earlier this month, longtime Fox Business host Neil Cavuto characterized Carlson's accusations as "sick."
"I've never seen it. I've never witnessed it. Not even hints of it," Cavuto said.
He added, noting his multiple sclerosis: "Take it from a guy with an illness: These accusations that don't remotely resemble the Roger that I know — that WE know — are just sick."
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