Pittsburgh Radio: KDKA's Wendy Bell Slammed for Pandemic Comments

KDKA 1020 AM host Wendy Bell is facing backlash on social media Wednesday over comments she made addressing the decision to shut down businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wendy Bell

According to the Post-Gazette, Bell’s name was trending on Twitter after a clip surfaced of the former WTAE-TV anchor questioning the government’s decision to risk a potential economic shutdown in order to save a small percentage of lives from the virus. The comments were made on-air in the KDKA Radio studio Sunday while Ms. Bell streamed a 10-minute segment on Facebook Live.

Bell said she was “on the fence” about actions taken by government and health officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re told that we need to shut down the economy,” Ms. Bell said. “There’s a cost. Everything shuts down, but to what end?

“Yes, every life lost is one too many,” she continued. “Yes, that’s the talking point. That’s what we’re going to say. But ultimately dollars and cents boil down to, ‘Are you going to bankrupt America and the future for less than 1% of our population?’ Many of whom are already ill or aged. I’m on a fence.”



The clip began trending locally as users called on KDKA Radio to fire Bell.

Bell began working for KDKA Radio in January. The former news anchor is a multiple regional Emmy Award winner who was fired by WTAE-TV in 2016 for making comments deemed racist on her station-branded Facebook page while discussing the Wilkinsburg mass shooting, in which five adults and an unborn child were gunned downed during a backyard cookout.