Fox News' Shepard Smith Casually Comes Out

Shepard Smith

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith casually came out as a gay man today in a new interview with Huffington Post.

Addressing a question of whether or not recently ousted Fox News head Roger Ailes ever asked him to stay closeted, Smith was clear and direct.

“That’s not true. He was as nice as he could be to me. I loved him like a father. I trusted him with my career and with ― I trusted him and trusts were betrayed. People outside this company can’t know [how painful that betrayal was]. This place has its enemies, but inside, it was very personal, and very scarring and horrifying.”

Additionally, Smith told the Huffington Post that Ailes had never made homophobic remarks around him.

“He treated me with respect, just respect,” Smith continued. “I wasn’t new in the business when I came here ― I’d been doing reporting for 12 years ― but I wasn’t old in it either, and he gave me every opportunity in the world and he never asked anything of me but that we get it right, try to get it right every day. It was a very warm and loving and comfortable place.”

Rumors have circled for years regarding Smith's sexuality, which has resulted in his being regularly featured in the likes of OUT Magazine's “Power 100” issue.

I'm never one to 'out' another, unless someone is using their position (as some closeted politicians have done) to hurt the LGBT community. So, Smith's sexuality has never been a big story for me here on The Randy Report.

That said, I'm happy to see that Smith feels comfortable enough to live his life authentically. Congrats to Shep Smith!