It was a scandal that rocked the media world and brought a decorated career crashing down in an instant. For over a decade, Eric Bolling had been a rising star at Fox News – an affable, smart-alecky anchor who had worked his way up to landing a coveted prime time slot as the host of “The Specialists.” His brash, confident on-air presence made him a hit with the network’s conservative audience.
But in the summer of 2017, Bolling’s fairy tale media career story took an astonishing turn when he became engulfed in a lewd texting scandal.
Several of his former female colleagues at Fox News came forward with claims that Bolling had sent them inappropriate messages and explicit photos. It kickstarted a meteoric plummet from which the veteran anchor would never recover.
“I was in total disbelief when I first heard the allegations,” said Brad Kettering, a long-time television producer who had worked alongside Bolling for years.
“This was a total 180 from the Eric I knew – one of the most professional guys in the business. I never could have imagined he’d ever do something so reckless and juvenile.”
At first, Bolling vehemently denied the accusations and vowed to clear his name. But as more details surfaced, Fox News felt compelled to investigate and suspend their star anchor pending the inquiry’s findings.
Colleagues took sides, with some defending Bolling’s character while others claimed they had witnessed his inappropriate behavior towards women for years.
In the end, the evidence proved too damning for Bolling to survive. Just over a week after the scandal first made headlines, Fox News decided to make a clean break, firing the host and canceling his show, which had been a solid ratings performer.
Bolling’s lucrative 8-year contract at the $2 million per year level was terminated without payout.
“We don’t just pay lip service to creating a professional, non-hostile work environment,” a spokesperson for the network said. “Eric crossed a line that is impossible for us to defend, and we had no choice but to cut ties.”
For Bolling, who just months earlier had cockily held court on high-profile interview shows and been a welcome guest on the talking head circuit, it was a precipitous fall from grace.
The 54-year-old married father of two went from being an in-demand media personality to an unemployable pariah virtually overnight.
“Eric is still in complete shell-shock over how quickly his life unraveled,” confided a close friend who requested anonymity. “One day he was literally living out his dream job, and then the next it had all been ripped away because of one hugely avoidable mistake.”
In the aftermath, Bolling struggled to regain his footing in the media industry amid a steady stream of rejections from potential new employers. Several conservative networks, including Newsmax and One America News, gave him opportunities as a fill-in host and contributor.
But a return to the prominence he had previously enjoyed seemed increasingly unlikely as charges of sexual harassment continued to be a career death knell.
Five years removed from the scandal that halted his ascent, Bolling found himself relegated to bit roles on niche streaming channels, a long way from the bright lights and big stage he had grown accustomed to.
It was a harsh object lesson in the unforgiving nature of the modern media world when it comes to misconduct.
“The Bolling affair showed that no matter how big a star you become, you’re never too big to be taken down by a self-inflicted ethical breach,” concluded Jeffrey McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University.
“It fundamentally changed the way news organizations handle internal allegations and just how tough a zero-tolerance policy they have to be enforced.”
To his remaining allies, Bolling was a victim of callous cancelation by his former employer. But in a post-#MeToo society with shifting workplace norms, critics of the ousted anchor saw the punishment as long overdue accountability.
Either way, the face of Fox News would never be the same in the aftermath of Bolling’s epic downfall.