Fox News has had plenty of big scandals over the years, and its controversial hosts have made headlines with everything from their personal lives to their political outlooks. Over the years, one of the network’s most popular (and one of their most headline-making) hosts has been Sean Hannity, who first joined Fox back in 1996. In the decades that he’s been on Fox’s airwaves, Hannity’s outspoken nature has garnered him plenty of staunch supporters, making him the longest-running primetime host in cable news.
However, for all of the people who love tuning into his show, there are just as many haters. Folks have tried to unearth everything there is to know about the Fox News personality, from his scandalous relationship timeline with Ainsley Earhardt to any details available about his two children, Patrick and Merri, with ex-wife Jill Rhodes. And yet, despite all of the time Hannity spends reporting the news (and sometimes even making news himself), there is still plenty he has managed to keep under wraps from his critics. This is the shady side of Sean Hannity.
Sean Hannity has repeatedly been caught making fake claims
Fox News has often been accused of spreading misinformation. Although Sean Hannity has been outspoken in defending the network against such claims, he himself has been caught doing just that. Fact-checking website PolitiFact even has an entire page dedicated to Hannity and the false statements he’s made on air, stretching from the present back to 2009. Just some of the erroneous claims he’s made include telling viewers that illegal immigrants can vote in local New York City elections (they can’t) and that the White House planned to ban gas ovens and burners in 2023 (it didn’t).
Hannity has also often turned his back on the facts in an effort to praise Donald Trump. In 2021, for example, he proudly proclaimed that the US didn’t import any crude oil from Saudi Arabia while Trump was in office. The truth, though, was that America was buying half a million barrels a day from Saudi Arabia in 2019, and had been since Trump entered office in 2017 — the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted that number as the US brought in less oil, but Hannity’s grand statement was incorrect. More recently, in 2024, Hannity stated that both Trump assassination attempts were carried out by Democrats. In reality, Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who hit Trump’s ear, was a registered Republican, while Ryan Routh, the suspect arrested outside Trump’s Florida golf course, was registered as an Independent.
A female guest called him ‘weird and creepy’
Years before Tucker Carlson’s shady side was revealed to the world, leading to his shocking and sudden exit from Fox News, Sean Hannity faced his own headline-making accusations. In April 2017, conservative commentator Debbie Schlussel alleged that Hannity had twice asked her to come to his hotel room and, when she refused, he banned her from his show.
Schlussel spoke of the experience during an appearance on the Pat Campbell Show; she claimed that it was the early 2000s and she was in Detroit, Michigan where she was set to appear on Hannity’s show. Earlier in the day, he reportedly asked her to attend his book signing and things got awkward. “He said, ‘Why don’t you come back with me to my hotel?’ and I said ‘No, I have to get ready for the show,'” she recalled, per Fox 13. Later, once they were finished shooting, Schlussel said Hannity asked her back to his hotel a second time. She again refused and alleged (via HuffPost), “I wasn’t booked on his show again, and he called me and yelled at me.”
Hannity was quick to respond, saying Schlussel’s claims were false and that he would sue for defamation. In response, Schlussel clarified and somewhat walked back her statement, specifying that while Hannity made her uncomfortable, there was no harassment involved. “I never thought I was sexually harassed by Sean Hannity, I thought he was weird and creepy,” she told LawNewz.com (via Law & Crime).
Inside Hannity’s feud with Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel hasn’t shied away from poking fun at the Trumps, but when he mocked Melania Trump’s accent in 2018, Sean Hannity had enough. The Fox News personality unleashed a tirade on Kimmel’s show, accusing the late night host of being a bully and proclaiming, per Yahoo!, “Jimmy, you’re a despicable disgrace.” The comedian clapped back, and soon, Kimmel and Hannity’s feud spilled over onto Twitter (now X).
Over 15 messages were exchanged and insults quickly escalated after Hannity posted clips of Kimmel on an old Comedy Central series called “The Man Show.” In the controversial videos, Kimmel wore blackface and asked a young woman to grope him. Hannity unleashed a slew of insults, dubbing Kimmel “Harvey Weinstein Jr,” as well as “creepy and perverted.” In return, Kimmel mocked Hannity, writing, “Thank goodness we have kind, tolerant men like you to protect this nation from bullies.”
In the end, Kimmel tweeted an apology for some of the inciting jokes, including an allusion to Hannity and Trump having a sexual relationship. However, he maintained that his initial comment about Melania was funny and threw in a few more jabs at Hannity who, ultimately, decided to let it go. “I believe everyone should accept apologies,” he told viewers. “It’s time to move on.”
He also went after Seth Meyers
Three years after he exchanged heated words with Jimmy Kimmel, Sean Hannity unleashed an on-air tirade against another late night comic: Seth Meyers. It all began in March 2021 when Meyers accused Republicans, the NRA, and Fox News of standing in the way of important gun legislation.
The Late Night segment aired shortly after two mass shootings took place in Boulder, Colorado and Atlanta, Georgia, and Meyers called opponents of reform “a small minority of sociopaths with outsized power in our politics.” He also singled out Hannity, noting how he only briefly mentioned the tragic Boulder shooting at the start of his show before quickly moving on to a story about Joe Biden tripping while walking up a set of stairs. “Get your priorities straight,” Meyers chastised.
Hannity soon responded, going on his own on-air tirade against Meyers. “You’re just another limousine liberal, socialist, hypocritical a*****e who does nothing but spew anti-GOP hate,” he admonished, per Deadline. He then accused Meyers of being ignorant to the truth and of having terrible ratings. “And you’re not funny, ever,” he concluded.
He worked closely with Trump’s team to get him re-elected in 2020
Sean Hannity has lambasted journalists for picking sides and not being politically impartial, but he himself has been anything but neutral. In April 2022, CNN learned that the White House’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had exchanged 82 text messages with Hannity to discuss Trump and his re-election. In the first conversation, which took place on election day in 2020, Meadows asked Hannity to use his platform to tell viewers they had to get out and vote. “On it. Any place in particular we need a push[?]” asked Hannity, clearly ready to do anything that was asked of him.
From there, the pair continued texting up until Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration, brainstorming about how best to tackle alleged voter fraud. At first, Hannity was unwavering in his support, writing, “I’ve had my team digging into the numbers — there is no way Biden got these numbers.” However, just a few weeks later, he told Meadows that folks like Rudy Giuliani (who continued to claim the election was stolen, despite countless losses in court) were hurting Trump’s case.
This time, instead of taking orders, he offered his own advice, texting that Trump should “Go to Fl and watch Joe mess up daily. Stay engaged.” Then, on January 6, as the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was happening, he again offered advice to help Trump come out the victor, writing, “Can he make a statement … Ask people to peacefully leave the capital.” Hannity’s texts clearly showed viewers that he isn’t exactly impartial.
Sean Hannity once threatened… Disneyland
As a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, Sean Hannity has repeatedly gone to bat for him — like in September, 2024, when he took issue with the fact that Trump’s presidential debate with Kamala Harris would take place on ABC News. “Barring some kind of political miracle, this debate will not be fair,” Hannity announced on his show, slamming moderator David Muir as being partial to Harris. He also went after other ABC journalists unaffiliated with the debate and proclaimed, “ABC-Disney is officially a woke, left-wing organization.”
Hannity’s anger was then directed at CEO Bob Iger, as he latched onto the company’s dropping stock price and argued that the network’s bias against Trump would cost them dearly. The Fox News host mused that Iger should be worried that half of America would be upset with him and the network if they didn’t give Trump a fair debate. He also made a surprising leap from TV to Disneyland, implying that all Trump supporters would boycott Disney attractions if their candidate wasn’t treated properly. “Maybe they don’t want half the country to attend their theme parks,” Hannity pondered.
