Fox News: Eric Bolling Is Out, Charles Payne Returns

Eric Bolling

The Fox News Channel has cut loose Eric Bolling, who was suspended on Aug. 5, and has also canceled his daily program “Fox News Specialists.”

According to The LATimes, the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, investigated allegations that the 54-year-old Bolling used his cellphone to send unsolicited photos of male genitalia to current and former female colleagues at the network. The firm has been handling harassment claims at the 21st Century Fox unit.

“Fox News Channel is canceling the ‘Specialists,’ and Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. “We thank Eric for his 10 years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck.”

Earlier Friday, Fox News confirmed that Fox Business host Charles Payne is returning to his job at the network after he was cleared in an internal investigation of sexual harassment claims lodged by a female political analyst who was a frequent guest on his program.

A Fox News representative confirmed that the company’s review of the allegations against Payne has been completed and that he would return to his nightly program “Making Money” on Friday night.

Payne has been off the air since July 6 when he was suspended hours after the LATimes first reported that he was being investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct.

No other details about the results of either investigation were available, but Payne’s return seems to indicate he was cleared, while Bolling was not.

Bolling was a rising star at Fox News. After a career as a commodities trader, he became a commentator at CNBC. He joined Fox Business Network in 2007 and eventually became part of the late afternoon roundtable show “The Five” on Fox News Channel.

After O’Reilly’s departure, “The Five” moved to prime time, but Bolling stayed in the late afternoon slot to head up “Fox News Specialists.” He signed a new multi-year contract earlier this year.