Don't know if anyone saw this or not.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Fox News Allegedly Demoted Shepard Smith Because He Asked to Come Out as Gay


Gawker's J.K. Trotter reports today that "multiple sources" say Fox News anchor Shepard Smith approached network honcho Roger Ailes about the possibility of coming out as gay and was rebuffed. Smith subsequently was moved from prime-time to an afternoon slot, a move that one of the sources in the story called a "demotion."

Trotter's piece involves dramatic events at a picnic:

A few weeks before approaching Ailes about coming out, Smith surprised Fox staffers by bringing his boyfriend, a 26-year-old Fox producer named Gio Graziano, to a company picnic at Ailes’s compound in Garrison, New York. Held annually on Independence Day weekend, the picnic is a small gathering—only executives, on-air talent, and their frontline producers are invited—so Smith likely felt comfortable bringing along his steady partner.

Despite the intimate venue, the new couple put several Fox executives on high alert. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the picnic, the most dramatic reaction came from Bill Shine, the channel’s Executive Vice President of Programming. Shine “flipped out,” one source said, when Smith introduced Graziano to attendees. (Within and outside of Fox, Shine, who is 50 and grew up on Long Island, carries a reputation for insensitivity toward gay people. “He’s a major, major homophobe,” a Fox insider said.)

This doesn't look good for the news network, which, politics aside, is owned by 21st Century Fox, a public company whose diversity statement asserts that "embracing" individuals of different backgrounds and sexual orientations is a corporate goal.


www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/04/30/shepard_smith_fox_news_coming_out_request_allegedly_led_to_demotion.html

[Tennesseer]

Did Fox think most of its viewers (and non-viewers) did not know Smith was gay?

There have been a number of TV hosts and personalities coming out as gay as of late, including Anderson Cooper, ABC's Robin Roberts and then weather anchor, Sam Champion.  Smith probably thought it was the right time too.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I didn't know he was gay but then again, I tend to not follow any TV people's personal lives until I see a headline. 

[Deleted]

Your gaydar is nonexistent, then! I don't know who he is but I thought "he's gay" just from his picture in the article. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Apr 30, 2014 12:53:20 GMT -5 @beerwench said:

Your gaydar is nonexistent, then! I don't know who he is but I thought "he's gay" just from his picture in the article. 

Yeah, it is. 

[truthbound]

Fox News Allegedly Demoted Shepard Smith Because He Asked to Come Out as Gay

Umm no.