Top 10 People in Media Who Got Canceled or Fired in 2021

This past year saw many familiar faces across news, sports and culture scorned, fired or otherwise ostracized from polite society. From sexual harassment allegations, to breaches in journalistic ethics to some very controversial statements, it seemed like everywhere you looked, another person of note had stumbled beyond redemption.

Of course, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is still employed after his indulgent Zoom call last year. So to say that these people were all canceled beyond redemption might be a stretch. But the year did see some very prominent personalities removed from their platforms or, at the very least, taken down a notch.

Some of these individuals might make a comeback, while others will probably remain in permanent exile. In any event, here are the top ten cancellations of 2021.

10. Steve Cortes

Steve Cortes and conservative Newsmax broke up in November following a dispute with the network’s Covid-19 testing and vaccine mandate. The network made an attempt to comply with President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on private businesses, and Cortes was none too pleased. The former Donald Trump campaign advisor very publicly went ballistic on his employer before ultimately leaving.

“I will not comply w/ any organization’s attempt to enforce Biden’s capricious & unscientific Medical Apartheid mandate. I will not be forced into the injection, nor will I disclose my vaccination status,” Cortes tweeted. “No one should be pressured to choose between medical privacy & their job.”

Cortez and Newsmax quickly ended their partnership, and the former has yet to announce a new gig.

9. Sage Steele

Popular sports reporter Sage Steele came under fire over comments she made on a podcast with former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler. While speaking with the former Chicago Bears slinger, Steele called ESPN’s vaccine mandate “sick” and “scary.”

Steele’s comments about the vaccine mandate drew headlines of their own. But she drew particular ire when she told Cutler she was surprised former President Barack Obama identifies as Black, and does not outwardly embrace that his mother was a white woman. Steele is still employed by ESPN, but as recently as this week, Deadspin was still trying to to cancel her.

On Wednesday, the outlet called her the “Black Candace Owens.” Steele of course is Black, as is Owens.

8. Ellen DeGeneres

In September, Ellen DeGeneres broke her silence following allegations she oversaw a toxic work environment on the set of her eponymous show. Some staffers even alleged sexual misconduct among their superiors, which the affable host denied. DeGeneres went as far as to claim attacks on her management style were “coordinated.”

But during the fallout and continued media coverage, DeGeneres decided to essentially cancel herself. A one-time magnet for Daytime Emmy Awards, the host’s show had already faltered. She ultimately decided it would not go on after its current season.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show will end in May after 19 years on the air.

7. Rachel Nichols

Former ESPN NBA reporter Rachel Nichols is presumably job hunting following her public exit from the worldwide leader in sports. In August, she split from ESPN following a controversy surrounding a leaked private phone call. Nichols was heard on a recorded phone call telling LeBron James’ trusted advisor Adam Mendelsohn that her network colleague, Maria Taylor, was given priority assignments because she is Black.

Nichols also said the sports broadcaster had a “crappy” record with regard to diversity.

Nichols is gone from ESPN, as is Taylor, who joined NBC Sports.

6. Emerald Robinson

Emerald Robinson is another former Newsmax personality who was axed by the conservative network this year. She’s also another network reporter who left after taking on Covid-19 vaccines. In her case, her comments raised a lot of eyebrows.

“Dear Christians: the vaccines contain a bioluminescent marker called LUCIFERASE so that you can be tracked,” Robinson tweeted in November. “Read the last book of the New Testament to see how this ends.”

The tweet was removed by Twitter. So too was Robinson, permanently. The fallout was immense.

Robinson was quickly suspended by Newsmax. The network issued a statement to the Washington Post which read, “Emerald is still with Newsmax, however her contract ends in January and we will not be renewing it. We appreciate the work she has done on-air for the network.”

5. Donald McNeil

Former New York Times science and health reporter Donald McNeil was fired in January after decades on the job when the he was accused of using racist and sexist language while on a trip to Peru with a group of students. The Daily Beast reported he used the “n-word” in a descriptive context, but not as an insult. Still, the scandal was huge. McNeil denied the allegations that he is a racist, but was nonetheless let go.

“Am I a racist?” McNeil later wrote in a post on Medium to defend himself. “I don’t think so – after working in 60 countries over 25 years, I think I’m pretty good at judging people as individuals. But ‘am I a racist?’ is actually a harder question to answer about yourself than some self-righteous people think.”

“I don’t know anybody who hasn’t, at some point, lowered their voice, looked around to see who was listening, and then said something unflattering about some ‘other’ – whether based on race or religion or sexual orientation or whatever,” McNeil added. “That includes people I love … We all sometimes say stupid things – or things we thought were funny but weren’t.

McNeil had been with The New York Times for 45 years.

4. Michele Tafoya

Longtime NFL Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya will no longer offer viewers a perspective from the field after this season is up. It has been reported that Tafoya is leaving voluntarily, but there is still speculation she was canceled for taking on both the severity of Covid-19 and divisive former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

After she appeared on The View in November, Tafoya courted controversy when she compared Covid-19 to the seasonal flu. Additionally, she challenged Kaepernick and his assertion that the NFL Combine was akin to a slave auction.

“No one pressures them,” Tafoya said of players participating in the Combine. “They’re not forced to go into the NFL.”

3. Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan notably left ITV’s Good Morning Britain after he slammed Meghan Markle on the air after she claimed during an interview with Oprah Winfrey that members of the British Royal family had judged her son Archie with Prince Harry based on the color of his skin.

Morgan had it out on live TV with ITV weatherman Alex Beresford and walked off the set. Hours later, he was gone, ITV announced. ITV said, ”Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”

Morgan, as he always seems to do, landed on his feet. He currently writes regularly for the Daily Mail.

2. Sharon Osbourne

Sharon Osbourne was out from CBS’ The Talk in March following an on-air dispute which involved accusations of racism. Osbourne defended her friend, Piers Morgan, over his stance on Markle’s accusations against the royals. Osbourne argued with her fellow cohosts in a segment on March 10th that put her on the outs with CBS.

Two weeks later, CBS issued a statement notifying the audience of The Talk that Osbourne would not return.

“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home,” CBS stated. “We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts. At the same time, we acknowledge the network and studio teams, as well as the showrunners, are accountable for what happened during that broadcast as it was clear the co-hosts were not properly prepared by the staff for a complex and sensitive discussion involving race.”

Osbourne has yet to land another high-profile job and is, for now, away from the crazy train that is daytime TV.

1. Chris Cuomo

In a move that surprised few people, Chris Cuomo was fired by CNN in November after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused him in a report of abusing his power as a journalist to assist his embattled brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who was facing sexual harassment and groping allegations.

Cuomo faced his own sexual misconduct accusation, although the details of it were never made public by CNN. He was swiftly fired amid all the drama and was even dropped by HarperCollins, which was planning to publish a book he had been working on.

Cuomo Prime Time is no more, and the former host’s time slot on CNN is currently being filled by Michael Smerconish.