ABC Anchor Allegedly Fired After 'Off-Color' Remark Caught on Studio Mic

By Ashley Turner

ABC gave a longtime anchor the boot. Ken Rosato, a newscaster for WABC 7's Eyewitness News This Morning, has been fired for allegedly making an off-color comment. Page Six reported Rosato was off the air at the time of the remark, but an insider told the outlet was picked up "on an open mic," and he was "immediately let go." What Rosato said and when he made the comment is unclear. Another source only confirmed to Page Six he had been "fired for cause immediately."

The firing was announced to Rosato's colleagues on Friday. According to the outlet, a meeting with his co-anchors was scheduled "one-by-one," but management refused to reveal the content of what was said. In addition, the insider does not know what he said but speculates that it might have been a "racial slur."

A representative of Rosato has aggressively denied this claim, telling Page Six: "Being fired for any racial slur is 100 percent inaccurate and untrue. Ken Rosato had a benchmark of 20 years at WABC of supporting all equality." On Friday, the station's general manager emailed staffers that Rosato "is no longer with WABC."

"We thank him for his years of service," they wrote.

Rosato was born May 4, 1967, in New Rochelle, New York. Since he was 12 years old, Rosato has been interested in broadcasting and hosted his own news program on a local New Rochelle TV station, according to The US Sun. He attended Regis, an all-male private high school, and earned a bachelor's degree in Film, TV, and Radio from New York University. The award-winning journalist speaks five languages fluently.

"Eyewitness News" hired Rosato as a freelance reporter in 2003, and he was promoted to morning and noon anchor in 2007. He anchored ABC 7's Eyewitness News This Morning program each morning from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. for 20 years with Shirleen Allicot, Heather O'Rourke, and Sam Champion. The station covers New York City, New Jersey, Long Island, and the surrounding areas. He recalled when he learned he would anchor the morning news in a video profile for WABC-TV's Channel 7 news.

"I was a full-time freelance reporter," he said via The US Sun. "I had the opportunity to fill in anchoring. The ratings spiked; they made me go a second day. The ratings spiked; and then I was told, 'We're offering you a contract. You're our new morning anchor. Which was just the moment I'd dreamed about for about twenty years." The company's website has removed the former anchor's bio. His daily tweets from the anchor desk ceased on May 2.

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