Geraldo Rivera exits Fox News after he says he was 'fired' from 'The Five'

 Geraldo Rivera exits Fox News after he says he was 'fired' from 'The Five'

On Friday, Geraldo Rivera was escorted off the air by Fox News with a cake and balloons, and he left with a timely reminder that his career in journalism was the result of affirmative action.

Rivera claimed that Fox let him go from his regular spot on "The Five" and that he ultimately made the decision to leave the network.

Rivera had a going-away party on the morning show "Fox & Friends," where he typically provided commentary once per week, after his last two appearances on the political talk show in the afternoon appeared to have been canceled.

After a tribute that included clips from his career and goodbye messages from people like Jesse Watters, Bret Baier, Sean Hannity, and Jeanine Pirro, Rivera said, "I feel very emotional and deeply moved."

He likewise noted — a day after the U.S. High Court struck down governmental policy regarding minorities in society in advanced education — that he started out in TV when the Portage Establishment and Columbia News coverage School joined to advance minorities in reporting. In New York, he had been working with Puerto Rican activist groups.

Rivera went on to have a glittering career as a national talk show host after exposing abuse in the state's mental health system on local New York television. When he opened Al Capone's vault live on television and discovered it empty, his tribute made fun of one famous stunt.

Rivera joined Fox because he wanted to be a war correspondent after the 2001 attacks.

As a part-time panelist on "The Five," he had to argue on behalf of a liberal viewpoint against four conservatives.

"Jousting with you has been an honor," Watters said on the recorded recognition Friday. " You were always on top of your game."

Rivera's arguments with panelist Greg Gutfeld, whom he once called "insulting punk" and arrogant on air, became increasingly personal. Conservative panelists and rising stars Gutfeld and Watters have turned Fox's top-rated show "The Five" into their own prime-time shows on the network's schedule.

Dissimilar to partners Watters and Pirro, Gutfeld didn't convey a recorded farewell to Rivera on Friday.

Rivera, who said he was momentarily suspended from "The Five" soon after he disrespectfully censured some of terminated early evening host Exhaust Carlson's hypotheses, told The Related Press last week that he had chosen to stop the show due to strains there.

It was not completely clear what had changed to make Rivera express, both on the air Friday and on Twitter, that he had been terminated from the show. "We reached an amicable conclusion with Geraldo over the past few weeks," Fox said in a statement. A spokeswoman did not have any additional information.