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Fox News anchor Shepard Smith committed a cardinal sin on air Monday, August 11, while talking about the death of Robin Williams.
Smith described the late actor/comedian as a "coward" for the way he died.
“Something inside you is so horrible or you’re such a coward or whatever the reason that you decide that you have to end it. Robin Williams, at 63, did that today,” Smith said
Smith's comments were condemned by many on social media
.@ShepNewsTeam couldn't wait till his body was in the ground before calling #RobinWilliams a coward http://t.co/5Yj59Hqp2U
— FroggieLeggs (@FroggieLeggs_) August 12, 2014Shep Smith, who I am usually a big fan of, has apparently never been depressed http://t.co/nki3JJ4OO0
— Henry Blodget (@hblodget) August 12, 2014Shep Smith questioned whether Robin Williams was a "Coward"? NOOOOO! Ailes got to the only good guy there! GODDAMN IT! #EverybodySucksAtFox
— Kevin Grüssing (@KevDGrussing) August 12, 2014Williams was one of those rare actors who was equally effective in both comedies like "Mrs Doubtfire" and dramas such as "One Hour Photo."
He battled depression for years and was said to be embarrassed by having to take roles in the last years of his life just to get by financially.
“There was also frustration that Robin expressed at having to take television and movie roles he didn’t want to take, but had to for the paycheck,” source told Radar Online, referencing his recently announced decision to film Mrs. Doubtfire 2. “Doing sequels was never Robin’s thing, and he wasn’t that excited at having to reprise the role of Mrs. Doubtfire, which was scheduled to start filming later this year.”
On Tuesday Smith issued an apology for his poor choice of words via Mediate.
I spent an entire hour talking about how much this man affected people’s lives and brought greatness to this world. I was just wondering aloud what could have made this man want to end it all. And it reminds us that we all have responsibility as friends and neighbors to help take responsibility to prevent this from happening. There are people who process suicide as a black-and white-issue. I don’t process anything as black-and-white.
I was sorry to read online the people who see the world in a black-and-white way, and to suggest that they might have a definitive analysis of why he did such a thing. What I wanted to do is celebrate his life and find some meaning in our own lives, since we often do know someone who is reaching out, and we have a responsibility to help that person — maybe a phone call or a door knock is in order.
But no matter how you process it: Look at what this family is going through. I would never presume to know anything about his private life. And if any of his family members and friends were to have seen me use the word “coward,” I would be horrified. I would just to apologize to the end of the earth to anyone who might think that I meant to openly call him a coward.
To the core of my being, I regret it. It just came out of my mouth. And I’m so sorry. And to anyone and their families who see that, I am sorry.
Watch the original broadcast below. Should Smith be disciplined by Fox?
Fox News host calls Robin Williams 'a coward' over suicide
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