Maria Bartiromo has spoken publicly for the first time since her abrupt departure from Fox News and Fox Business, thanking supporters for their messages and hinting that there is more to her story.
In a post shared Thursday on X, Ms. Bartiromo wrote that she was “so grateful for the outpouring of love” from friends and followers, attaching a photo of a rainbow and adding, “More to come.” She posted similar thanks in a separate message on Instagram, alongside photos of sunsets and her dog.
Fox News announced her exit on Sept. 3, saying in a terse public statement only that it thanked Ms. Bartiromo for her work over “the last 12 ½ years” and wished her well “on her next chapter.” But the network gave a starker account behind the scenes: a Fox News Media spokesperson confirmed to Axios that Ms. Bartiromo had in fact been fired, for business reasons the spokesperson did not specify.
Ms. Bartiromo’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, pushed back on that account, insisting she was not fired and remains a Fox employee. He called reports of her termination “absolutely and unequivocally false” and said “we have the receipts and witnesses.” The dispute leaves three conflicting versions on the record: Fox’s public statement that she is simply “no longer with” the company, Fox’s private confirmation to Axios that she was fired, and Ms. Bartiromo’s camp insisting she was not fired at all.
The media newsletter Status reported that Ms. Bartiromo’s exit followed her sharing an internal Fox directive — one cautioning staffers against amplifying President Trump’s unproven election-fraud claims — with the White House.
Mr. Trump, a frequent guest on Ms. Bartiromo’s programs, said he was stunned by the news, calling her “a total professional, and a true warrior” whose fans “will not be happy.”
Ms. Bartiromo joined Fox Business as an anchor in January 2014 and went on to host three programs across the Fox networks. She was among the Fox hosts named in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation suit over false 2020 election claims aired on the network, which Fox settled for $787.5 million in 2023.
She has not said what her next move will be.
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