Shep Smith Defends Roger Ailes Against Charges of Homophobia

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Fox anchor Shepard Smith acknowledged that he was gay and dismissed reports that Fox founder Roger Ailes had ever tried to keep him from coming out publicly or had shown him disrespect on account of his sexuality.

According to CNN Money report in July, Ailes had used a homophobic slur multiple times to refer to Media Matters founder David Brock.

Asked if the former Fox CEO had ever made homophobic comments in Smith’s presence, the anchor told HuffPo‘s Ryan Grim, “No, never. He treated me with respect, just respect.”

He said that reports that Ailes had prevented him from coming out publicly several years ago were false. “That’s not true. He was as nice as he could be to me. I loved him like a father,” he said. “I trusted him with my career and with ― I trusted him and trusts were betrayed. People outside this company can’t know [how painful that betrayal was]. This place has its enemies, but inside, it was very personal, and very scarring and horrifying.”

Grim writes, “Though Shep rarely talks about his sexuality, he is regularly, for instance, included in Out Magazine’s Power 50 list. ” Gawker outed Smith in a 2013 article and subsequently reported that the network, and Ailes specifically, had prevented the anchor from coming out publicly himself.

Smith has been with Fox News since the network’s founding in 1996.

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