- Fox News host Jeanine Pirro confirmed she was suspended from the network in March, and said it was the first step in plans to fire her.
- In comments made during a commercial break on the radio show of former White House aide Sebastian Gorka, Pirro said that her suspension was “the basis to tee up for anything I do wrong, they’ll fire me.”
- Pirro was absent from the network for two weeks in March after questioning whether Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, could be loyal to the United States because she wears a hijab.
- Fox News has never confirmed that she was suspended.
- At the time of her absence, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Pirro, tweeting: “Bring back Judge Jeanine Pirro,” and blaming it on the “Fake News Media” and “Radical Left Democrats.”
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Fox News host Jeanine Pirro has claimed that the network wants to fire her, and confirmed she was suspended in March over comments she made about Rep. Ilhan Omar.
In comments made during a commercial break on the radio show of former White House aide Sebastian Gorka, Pirro claimed that her suspension was “the basis to tee up for anything I do wrong, they’ll fire me.”
“They suspended me,” Pirro, who hosts “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” said. “You know I’m worried that that suspension was the basis to tee up for anything I do wrong, they’ll fire me.”
Read more: Ilhan Omar thanks Fox for condemning Jeanine Pirro comments
Pirro also said that she had been barred from talking to other media outlets by her bosses at Fox News.
"Fox reviews everything. They're unbelievable," she said. "They're still saying you cannot do Bill O'Reilly, you cannot do Newsmax."
Gorka's show "America First" is broadcast on his website and on YouTube. Pirro's conversation with Gorka during the commercial break was audible on the YouTube broadcast of the show.
"Keep doing what you're doing," Gorka replied to Pirro's comments.
You can see video of the full exchange below:
amazing. on sebastian gorka's show, jeanine pirro admitted during a commercial break that she was suspended by fox news https://t.co/K6zfPad8Ld pic.twitter.com/uBDYvyNGUF
— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) September 3, 2019
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pirro's claims.
In March, Pirro was abruptly removed from Fox News' programming schedule after attacking Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, questioning whether the representative from Minnesota, who is Muslim, could be loyal to America because she wears a hijab.
"Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Shariah law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?" asked Pirro on an edition of her program in March.
A former judge, Pirro is among President Trump's staunchest champions on the network, and the president lashed out at the network for the suspension in a tweet in March.
In recent months Trump has launched a series of attacks against Fox News, which he has accused of disloyalty.
Bring back @JudgeJeanine Pirro. The Radical Left Democrats, working closely with their beloved partner, the Fake News Media, is using every trick in the book to SILENCE a majority of our Country. They have all out campaigns against @FoxNews hosts who are doing too well. Fox .....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2019
Fox News publicly criticized Pirro's remarks in a statement in March, saying the host's views did not "reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly." The network, however, did not confirm that Pirro had been suspended.
When she returned on air after a two-week-long absence, she clarified her comments about Omar.
"My intention was to ask a question and start a debate, but of course because one is Muslim does not mean you don't support the Constitution," she remarked.