A look inside the toxic work culture at ABC News… According to ex-anchor
Ex-World news now host Kendis Gibson has made shocking claims against longtime network ABC.
The 52-year-old has claimed he was surrounded by a toxic environment during his time at the network, even revealing he faced racism that led him to attempt suicide, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Gibson, who has an upcoming book titled: Five Journeys: A Research Journey into Mental Health, Psychedelic Healing, and Saving a Lifeclaims his mental health took a hit while working at ABC.
Despite a “heart-warming welcome” from Good morning America stars Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, when Gibson started as a correspondent at ABC News in 2014, he was still warning of terrible things to come.
Gibson claimed that an unnamed black correspondent at the network said, “Welcome to Mickey’s plantation.” When the TV personality asked for more context, he claims he was told, “You’ll find out.”
Gibson said of the comments: “The feeling I got from them was that it was about veiled racism, and there was some truth to what was behind it.”
A year later, Gibson took over the night position from World news now by TJ Holmes, who was fired along with Amy Robach in 2023 after the revelation of their off-camera relationship.
However, from the start, Gibson felt the pressure and anxiety of performing, as he said, “There was already an underlying depression,” adding that he had to rely on Ambien to cope during his time on Insomnia and anxiety. the position.
While Gibson faced the pressure of carrying out his assignments, he also claims he faced covert racism. The host recalled a time when a boss called him out for wearing jeans on air.
Gibson claimed the director said, “You’re doing television news now and not attending a rap concert. Never wear jeans again.” Gibson claimed the same person retaliated against him after he helped lead a “Diversity Task Force” to encourage management to hire more black employees in top positions.
He also reclaimed his performances Good morning America dropped after his first post-task force meeting with management, and that producers passed on exclusive products that he would pitch.
The stress was too much for Gibson, who after returning home from the news broadcast last night took two Ambien with two glasses of Chardonnay and cried himself to sleep. He then resigned himself to ending his life by preparing himself to jump out of his window. However, he fell backwards and landed on the kitchen floor, and was later found by his BFF, Mike Woods.
According to Gibson, he returned to work just hours after the suicide attempt — and also saw a therapist, who prescribed medication for depression and anxiety.
ABC later offered Gibson a one-year extension and a $10,000 salary increase to continue in his position as he had only a few months left on his contract. However, Gibson declined the offer, saying he “didn’t think it was worth my time or health to sacrifice another year to that difficult schedule.”
Gibson got a new job at MSNBC, but he became embroiled in a racist scandal at his previous employer after his former boss was fired for allegedly insensitive racist comments she made about talent at the network, including Gibson himself, as well as Roberts and The View’s Sunny Hostin.
The alleged comment left Gibson crying in a fetal position on the bathroom floor.
After leaving MSNBC, Gibson anchored news in Miami for six months and now works at PIX11 News in New York.
