Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith: Roger Ailes Didn’t Care That I’m Gay
Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith said that disgraced former boss Roger Ailes never mistreated him for being gay, which is one of the only times the veteran broadcaster has ever publicly spoken about his sexuality.
Smith denied old rumors that Ailes had prevented him from coming out publicly, telling The Huffington Post, “That’s not true.”
“He was as nice as he could be to me. I loved him like a father,” Smith told the HuffPost. “I trusted him with my career.”
Also Read: 12 Roger Ailes Accusers and Their Allegations Against Former Fox News Boss (Photos)
Gawker regularly assailed Smith back in 2014. The website wanted to out Smith as a gay man and went to great lengths to stalk the newsman for answers, despite Smith attending LGBT events and getting featured in Out magazine. The website claimed Smith was demoted at Fox News because he wanted to come out, which Ailes and Smith both denied immediately.
Smith told the HuffPost that Ailes never made homophobic slurs towards him.
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“No, never. He treated me with respect, just respect,” Smith told the HuffPost.
Smith elaborated to HuffPost how the former Fox News CEO and president helped his career.
“I wasn’t new in the business when I came here ― I’d been doing reporting for 12 years ― but I wasn’t old in it either, and he gave me every opportunity in the world and he never asked anything of me but that we get it right, try to get it right every day. It was a very warm and loving and comfortable place,” Smith told the site.
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