Longtime Anchor Swiftly Fired After Hot Mic Incident

The longtime anchor of one of ABC News' "flagship" local news broadcasts was swiftly fired after a hot mic caught him allegedly making some sort of inappropriate remark, sources tell the New York Post. New York's WABC 7 isn't revealing what Ken Rosato is accused of saying, and he wasn't on the air at the time, but he was wearing an open mic that picked it up. One source says the 56-year-old Eyewitness News This Morning anchor was "immediately let go" and another says he was "fired for cause immediately." Page Six later reported that Rosato is accused of referring to his co-anchor Shirleen Allicot as the c-word.

Some had initially speculated the comment in question must have involved a racial slur, but Rosato's rep quickly denied that, saying, “Being fired for any racial slur is 100% inaccurate and untrue. Ken Rosato had a benchmark of 20 years at WABC of supporting all equality." WABC 7 has not yet publicly announced Rosato's departure, but the station did let staffers know, in an email saying the network thanks him "for his years of service." His last tweet from the anchor desk was May 2, and his profile was removed from the station's website last week. Page Six reports Rosato was a Catholic priest in Florida before joining Eyewitness News, first as a freelance reporter, in 2003. He was promoted to morning and noon anchor four years later. (More ABC News stories.)