On-Air Personalities Who Couldn't Hide Their Questionable Pasts

The landscape of journalism is constantly changing in accordance with the latest trends and technology — and nobody knows that better than on-air personalities who deliver the news to our television screens. In 2010, a Pew Research survey (via CNN) found that 75% of Americans consumed at least some of their news from emails and social media, a stark contrast to the previous decade when TV news broadcasts reigned supreme. The study noted, "The days of loyalty to a particular news organization on a particular piece of technology in a particular form are gone." During the 2010s, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (now X) helped speed up the news cycle by introducing the concept of going viral. News organizations quickly hitched their wagons to this rapid-fire approach to media distribution. As a result, news is now gathered, shared, and consumed at breakneck speeds. 

Despite the ever-evolving state of journalism, many Americans still get their news from on-air personalities. Known for their charm, earnestness, and accuracy, national news broadcasters are celebrities in their own right. But it isn't easy to stay on top of current events while also presenting a likeable persona — and throughout the years, many famous on-air personalities have fallen out of favor with viewers. In some cases, disgraced newscasters have been rocked by explosive scandals. Further still, some problematic news anchors have tried to hide their checkered pasts. Unfortunately for the on-air personalities on our list, their dubious deeds eventually caught up with them.

In 2017, NBC hired former Fox News anchor, Megyn Kelly. Kelly's onboarding was controversial from the start, with many network insiders questioning whether the conservative newscaster would resonate with NBC's audience. Nonetheless, Kelly proceeded to host her own NBC morning show, "Megyn Kelly Today," during the 9 o'clock hour of "Today." 

In 2018, Kelly invited an all-white panel on her show to discuss the implications of blackface Halloween costumes. During the segment, Kelly defended the use of blackface, stating, "Back when I was a kid that was OK, as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character" (via CNN). Viewers were enraged by Kelly's comments, and several NBC colleagues criticized her on-air. Kelly quickly followed up with an apology, but the damage was already done. Within days, her show was cancelled. In January 2019, Kelly was officially sacked from NBC. 

Kelly's comments clearly struck a nerve within the network, but many were quick to point out that it wasn't her first offense. Several outlets noted that the newscaster had a history of evoking racist stereotypes and making light of issues that impact Black communities. In 2008, the news anchor was slammed for referring to former first lady Michelle Obama as "Obama's Baby Mama" in a caption on her Fox News show. These incidents showed that Kelly had been making racially insensitive statements on-air for a long time — but it took several years for her to face consequences.

In the quest to sniff out breaking news, some journalists have been known to take extreme measures, even if it means breaking the law. That's exactly what happened in 2009, when Fox News anchor James Rosen was accused of espionage due to his investigative activities. According to The Intercept, Rosen reached out to a federal contractor named Stephen Jin-Woo Kim and convinced him to share classified details about North Korea's nuclear weapons program. For several weeks, the men held secret meetings where Kim divulged top-secret information to Rosen. Eventually, Rosen published his findings, which contained details known only to a handful of government officials. The FBI quickly took notice and launched an investigation into the journalist. 

Armed with a search warrant, authorities seized Rosen's emails and phone records, which contained evidence of his correspondence with Kim. According to court documents, the news anchor attempted to cover his tracks — and protect Kim's identity — by using pseudonyms and communicating in code. Despite these measures, Rosen's misdeeds came to light, and federal investigators accused him of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. In another court document, authorities questioned Rosen's tactics, accusing him of "employing flattery and playing to Mr. Kim's vanity and ego" (via the Los Angeles Times). In 2014, Kim was sentenced to 13 months in prison for his role in the information leak. Rosen was never charged. However, in 2018, the Fox News personality left the network amid sexual harassment allegations.

As a foreign correspondent for USA Today, Jack Kelley willingly put himself in some of the most dire situations imaginable. For two decades, the journalist traveled the globe, honing his sights on wars, immigration, terrorism, and the like. In the media world, Kelley was lauded as a hero for his harrowing news stories; he even received a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2002. However, there was one gargantuan problem with Kelley's news reports: some of them were entirely fabricated.

Kelley's journalistic facade began to crumble in 2004 when USA Today received an anonymous letter stating that the newsman had faked several of his stories. In response, the broadcasting company launched an investigation, and Kelley resigned from his job. Ultimately, USA Today discovered that Kelley had fabricated the details of several reports, including one where he claimed to have witnessed a bombing in the Middle East. In another instance, Kelley was found to have made up a story involving the drowning deaths of Cuban refugees. As the investigation unfolded, USA Today also found more than 100 cases of plagiarism in Kelley's work.

Unlike some disgraced news anchors, Kelley took great measures to hide his misdeeds. As the New York Times noted, the dubious newsman had recruited fake eyewitnesses to corroborate his reports. Kelley reportedly coached these individuals on what to say in the event of an editorial review — and in some cases, he wrote scripts for them to recite.

For 17 years, Don Lemon was one of the most popular and influential faces at CNN. But his legacy took a turn in 2023 when the newscaster made some off-color remarks about Republican politician Nikki Haley. "Nikki Haley isn't in her prime, sorry," Lemon said during an episode of "CNN This Morning" (via the Associated Press). "When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s." Lemon's comments received heated backlash from social media users who quickly pointed out their misogynistic undertones. 

Later that day, Lemon issued an apology. "A woman's age doesn't define her either personally or professionally," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). But the news anchor had already sealed his fate: in April 2023, Lemon was let go from CNN. Nonetheless, Lemon took his firing in stride, going on vacation and briefly hosting "The Don Lemon Show" on X.

After his ousting from CNN, Variety reported that Lemon's sexist behavior was a recurring problem at the network. According to unnamed sources who spoke with the publication, Lemon had an antagonistic relationship with many of his female colleagues. The sources claimed that, in 2008, Lemon used a burner phone to threaten his co-anchor and rival, Kyra Phillips. According to another insider, Lemon called a female colleague fat during an argument. Another ex-coworker, Goldie Taylor, told Variety, "[I]t seems to me that when he says something offensive, there's almost always a woman on the other side."