Let’s face it: we’ve all had plenty of cringeworthy moments at work, and the stars of Fox News are no exception. That said, where many may look back on some of those awkward moments and facepalm knowing not everyone knows about it, the faces of Fox don’t have quite the same luxury.
We’ll start with the particularly memorable time Martha MacCallum reported on Reddit intel about the drama taking place within the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in 2020. “We’re also learning that there is in-fighting among some of the occupiers, and some signs of rebellion against Raz Simone … One posting on social media that has now been deleted, read this: ‘I didn’t vote for Raz. I thought we were an autonomous collective? An anarcho-syndicalist commune at the least. We should take turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.’ That’s just part of that,” MacCallum reported (via the Independent). Of course, some viewers noted that those exact sentiments were more than a little familiar. That’s because they were part of the script for the cult classic comedy film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
Unsurprisingly, those who recognized the lines had a field day with the blunder. Some outlets even placed the news report alongside the movie clip for reference. Ultimately, the controversy even reached Monty Python star John Cleese, and suffice it to say, he was amused, too. Taking to Facebook, the comedian quipped, “BREAKING: No one [at] Fox News has ever seen Monty Python & The Holy Grail.” He added another jab with his hashtags: “#Goodjournalism #factchecking.” Fox has never commented on the matter. Perhaps after the debacle, MacCallum’s newsroom team opted to watch the film for themselves and took another quote to heart. “Walk away. Just ignore them,” that is.
Laura Ingraham’s ‘You-gate’ was awkward, bit or not
A year on from the “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” exposé, Fox News once again made headlines for an awkward on-air gaffe. Although the hosts addressed the situation this time, let’s just say even the explanation was a little off.
In 2021, Laura Ingraham and contributor Raymond Arroyo had an on-air conversation about “woke-free TV.” At one point, Arroyo mentioned, “I was watching an episode of ‘You,’ where measles came up” (via The Hollywood Reporter). Cue, confusion from Ingraham, who seemed to believe Arroyo was saying she’d said something on her show. The back-and-forth intensified, with a flustered Arroyo ultimately moving on to the next story.
Of course, the clip went viral, and even “You” star Penn Badgley weighed in on it, writing on X (then known as Twitter), “Definitely a bit. His delivery is great tho.” Eventually, Arroyo and Ingraham confirmed on “The Ingraham Angle” a few days later that it had been a joke after all. Like we said, though, it still came across as a little awkward. For starters, Arroyo initially didn’t seem to be confirming that it had been planned. “I think people are craving something authentic and real, and they got a bit of that,” he began, before a stilted Ingraham cut in (via Fox News). “I think there are a lot of liberals out there who don’t like conservatives having fun — that’s what I think!” she laughed. That may have been the case. Even so, there’s no question that the delivery was awkward, and many have continued to question if it was scripted or whether that was just an attempt at saving face. Our take? It was probably an awkward joke that just didn’t pan out as well as expected.
The time Jesse Watters told on himself, then backtracked
The red flags in Jesse Watters’ marriage seem to be never-ending, and arguably the worst thing about that is that, for the most part, he’s doubled down on everything he’s said. However, his admission about how he got his wife to start spending time with him (that is, while he was married to his first wife, Noelle Watters), backfired to such an extent that even he had to admit it had been a “joke.”
ICYMI, in 2022, Jesse shared the heartwarming tale of how he let the air out of his now-wife’s tires ahead of their courtship. The result? When he offered her a ride home, she had no option but to say yes. At the time, his co-hosts on “The Five” certainly laughed about it, though it is worth noting that Greg Gutfeld asked a few questions. After Gutfeld playfully compared Jesse to a serial killer, the “Jesse Watters Primetime” host shared that the story had a “happy ending” (via the Independent). Gutfeld pushed again, asking, “Really?” Cue some defensiveness from Jesse. “Yes! We’re married!” he said, before laughing again. Funny, funny, funny.
Evidently, not everyone saw it that way. A few days later, Jesse claimed that it had, in fact, been made up. “That was a joke … I never deflated anyone’s tires,” he said in a follow-up episode of “The Five” (via People). We aren’t sure if we should file this one under “Awkward” or “Just plain scary.”
Laura Ingraham had a not-too-friendly guest on her show
If “You”-gate (Laura Ingraham’s own term) was one of the tragic details of Ingraham’s life, she certainly didn’t make that publicly known. However, two years later, there was another supremely awkward on-air moment she had to contend with — and though she held it together, there’s no question that it made her uncomfortable.
While being interviewed on “The Ingraham Report” in 2023, Steve Almond, the writer of “Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto,” made jabs at one of Fox News’ well-known scandals (that would be claims of sexual harassment). Later on, he honed in on Ingraham herself. Speaking to his belief that there should be financial incentives for NFL teams to prioritize football players’ safety, Almond pointed out, “The reason that people change their behavior is because there’s an economic incentive” (via The Young Turks). Possibly responding to Ingraham’s eye rolls, he then used the Fox star herself to illustrate. “Couple years ago, when you taunted the survivor of Parkland’s mass shooting, you apologized, only because advertisers withdrew from your show,” he said, referencing Ingraham’s ill-judged decision to pick on David Hogg. We’d say yikes, but that just wouldn’t do it justice, so … double yikes, all caps and in bold. YIKES YIKES.
Ingraham’s response to being dragged on-air on her own show? The equivalent of sticking her fingers in her ears and shouting, “Blah, blah, blah.” “Oh yeah — save it, nice try, little buddy. Nice try, buddy,” she said as he was cut from the interview. Legend has it she cut things short so she could grab and apply some burn ointment.
