Geraldo Rivera was ripped to shreds this morning on Fox News after he asked Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney and Fox News contributor, when he last visited the “ghetto.”
The question came during a heated conversation between Rivera, Terrell, and Fox News host Bill Hemmer about Tishaura Jones, the newly-elected, first Black mayor of St. Louis, and her plans to reduce crime and reform law enforcement.
“Hey, Leo, when was the last time you were in the ghetto?” Rivera pompously remarked during the exchange.
Quite understandably, Terrell did not appreciate the racist question.
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“How dare you say that?” he responded. Then the two men proceeded to yell at one another until Hemmer eventually stepped in to bring things to a visibly-tense close.
But this isn’t the first time Rivera has made insulting remarks about Black people.
In addition to constantly defending Donald Trump‘s racism, in 2015 he said hip hop music had “done more damage to black and brown people than racism in the last 10 years.” And in 2012, he said 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was partially responsible for his own death because he was wearing a hoodie when George Zimmerman shot him.
Of course, Rivera is also no friend to the LGBTQ community either.
In 2013, he defended actor Alec Baldwin over his use of the antigay slur “c*cksucking f*ggot.” And in 2016, he said that if the victims of the Pulse massacre had only fought back harder maybe they wouldn’t have died.
Last summer, footage of an old episode of his ’90s talk show dedicated to “power d*kes” resurfaced, as well as a 1998 New York Magazine article in which he was quoted saying his favorite bar is “owned by three d*kes.” (This ended up being false, BTW, and the bar’s heterosexual owner was said to be “mystified” by Rivera’s comment.)
Watch Rivera’s racist exchange with Terrell below.
Geraldo Rivera asks Leo Terrell when's the last time he was in the "ghetto" and all hell breaks loose pic.twitter.com/ZdjadawLqM
— Ryan Masri (@ryanmasri_) April 8, 2021
Shortly after the segment aired and his name was trending on Twitter, Rivera apologized for his remarks.
“Apologize to @TheLeoTerrell did not mean to imply that he doesn’t get realities of urban life,” the 77-year tweeted. “Sorry Leo didn’t mean it personally. I wish St Louis’ new mayor the best. She has her hands full in a city beset by violent crime.”
Apologize to @TheLeoTerrell did not mean to imply that he doesn’t get realities of urban life. Sorry Leo didn’t mean it personally. I wish St Louis’ new mayor the best. She has her hands full in a city beset by violent crime.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) April 8, 2021
Now, some reactions…
Geraldo is still a dumb fuck, I see. ?
— Lady Dawn M (@IAmDawnM) April 8, 2021
Yeah, I’m with Leo on this one.
I didn’t grow up in the ghetto. But I didn’t grow up on a farm either, and I still know the difference between chicken salad and chicken sh*t.— Butch_dog (@butch_dog) April 8, 2021
Only Fox News and their low IQ viewership would consider Geraldo relevant in any way, on any subject. I don't know of a more useless "journalist" in my lifetime.
— Francis Fashing (@Frazzbo) April 8, 2021
Geraldo is trending.
Do not open this! pic.twitter.com/uiLafmamsu— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) April 8, 2021
Leo Terrell broke Geraldo Riviera today ????????
— vince langman (@LangmanVince) April 8, 2021
Just because an area is predominantly black doesn’t make it a ghetto @GeraldoRivera
— LorettaFaucher🌊🌊🌊🌊 (@lorettafaucher) April 8, 2021
Oh, traitorous racist hack Geraldo “Jerry Rivers” Rivera said something racist? How totally not shocking, said the woman Geraldo blocked when she called him a traitorous racist hack #ByeGeraldo pic.twitter.com/qX5qWq7v0n
— Tara Dublin, Untapped Writing Goldmine (@taradublinrocks) April 8, 2021
I see @GeraldoRivera trending, and my first thought is, "Did he finally find the real vault of Al Capone?"
— Matthew Betley ?? (@MatthewBetley) April 8, 2021
Geraldo Rivera groped Bette Midler — see how he fits in with Trump and the GOP?
I’m sorry, Bette. https://t.co/j2y6yAPhpu
— Outspoken (@Out5p0ken) April 8, 2021
I think we should stop treating Fox News like Real News.
— ? ?? PATRIOT Serena ? ?? (@serena_patriot) April 7, 2021
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
novadude
Geraldo Rivera is and always had been a talentless hack. That a racist moron said something racist and stupid should surprise no one. (It also surprises no one that he’s a gasbag on Faux Noise, the strange attractor of all talentless hacks.)
Birds of a feather, as they say…
djhavyk
Honestly, we need to just turn this cr*p off and not pay any attention to it. It only exists because we give it life.
The real reason Faux News is winning in politics and public opinion is because they’ve learned that people are much more engaged when their “news” looks like reality TV. Do you think it’s a coincidence that Geraldo or other celebrities are on there? Or that all of the anchors and reporters look like movie stars? (…especially the female ones who have to look like centerfold models!) It’s all for entertainment purposes, to keep viewers engaged and watching commercials while they sell their agendas. More viewers = more advertising = more money. Simple.
This clip with Geraldo is just another episode of As The World Burns. In our next episode we’ll find out that Matt Gates is actually his long-lost twin who assumed the identity of his brother and has secretly been Trump’s fluffer. “Like sand through the hourglass, bitches…”
Dave_Bailey
I guess we finally found out what was in Al Capone’s vault; Rivera’s IQ.
HenryHawke
Nope! You’re wrong! Geraldo’s IQ wasn’t in Capon’s vault. The vault was empty just like like the space between his ears.
cctv
Fellow gay Scott Rudin is beating people with Mac monitors. This Geraldo story feels pointless by comparison. Love your values and tell the world about Scott’s physical and emotional abuse
curiobi
Who? And the topic here is racism, not whatever you are trying to distract from the issue with.
Cam
Translation: Right wing troll trying to deflect from Republican’s racism by attacking some random LGBTQ person.
We get it troll, no matter what screename you’re under, you’re here to attack LGBTQ people and defend Republican racism and bigotry.
Cam
Republicans still live in this weird world were cities are supposedly these collapsing wastelands and they are the only thing saving the suburbs from being overrun by the criminal hoards in the cities.
Republicans still use the term “Inner Cities” when they want to talk about a poor wrecked area. The problem is, the “Inner Cites” are now the most expensive high end areas of America and the poorest tend to be the rural areas in red states. But they have to keep badmouthing cities or the people in Republican areas might actually figure out that Republicans have wrecked their states.
Kevan1
First Fox News is registered as an entertainment network NOT NEWS. Next Geraldo is and has always been trash.
justgeo
Geraldo kinda seems like Rudie G’s date!
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
I remember when the Geraldo Rivera Show was on back in the early 1990’s and he and Roy Innis got into a fight with young white supremacists and it sent his ratings thru the roof. He ended up with a broken nose during that melee. Personally, I think it was he who started that fight that led to Innis grabbing that kid by the throat and all out hell broke loose. The guy has too many screws loose and is just an obnoxious ass who should have long since been forgotten by now.