Greg Gutfeld

Greg Gutfeld
Gutfeld in 2021
Born	Gregory John Gutfeld (1964-09-12) September 12, 1964 (age 60) San Mateo, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA)
Occupations	Television personality political commentator comedian author
Employer	Fox News
Television	Gutfeld! The Five Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld
Political party	Libertarian
Spouse	Elena Moussa ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	1

Gregory John Gutfeld (born September 12, 1964) is an American television host, political commentator, comedian, and author. He is the host of the late-night comedy talk show Gutfeld! , ^[1] and hosted a Saturday night edition of Gutfeld! called The Greg Gutfeld Show from May 2015 until March 2021, when it was announced the show would transition to weeknights.

Gutfeld is also one of five co-hosts and panelists on the political talk show The Five . Both of his shows air on the Fox News Channel. From 2007 to 2015, Gutfeld hosted the 3AM series Red Eye , a late-night talk show that also aired on the Fox News Channel. ^[2]

Early life and education

Gutfeld was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Jacqueline Bernice "Jackie" (née Cauhape) and Alfred Jack Gutfeld. ^[3] Raised Catholic, he attended the all-boys Roman Catholic Junípero Serra High School ^[4] and the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in English. ^{[5] [6]}

In a 2009 interview, Gutfeld explained that he started to experience a change in his political thinking while he was attending college: ^[7]

I became a conservative by being around liberals, and I became a libertarian by being around conservatives. You realize that there's something distinctly in common between the two groups, the left and the right; the worst part of each of them is the moralizing.

Career

After college, Gutfeld interned at The American Spectator , as an assistant to conservative writer R. Emmett Tyrrell. He then worked as a staff writer at Prevention magazine and as an editor for various Rodale Press magazines. In 1995, he became a staff writer at Men's Health . He was promoted to editor-in-chief of Men's Health in 1999. A year later, he was replaced by David Zinczenko.

Gutfeld then became editor-in-chief of Stuff , then owned by Dennis Publishing. During his tenure, circulation increased from 750,000 to 1.2 million. In 2003, Gutfeld hired several dwarfs to attend a conference of the Magazine Publishers of America on the topic of "buzz", with instructions to be as loud and annoying as possible. ^[8] The stunt generated publicity but led to Gutfeld being fired soon afterward; he then became "director of brand development" at Dennis Publishing. ^[8] He edited the company's Maxim magazine in the U.K. from 2004 to 2006. ^[6] Gutfeld's contract expired without renewal after losses in readership under his tenure. ^[9]

Gutfeld was one of the first posting contributors to The Huffington Post , from its launch in 2005 until October 2008. Frequent targets of his commentaries included Huffington Post colleagues Deepak Chopra, Cenk Uygur, and Arianna Huffington. ^[10]

Gutfeld speaking at Turning Point USA, 2018.

Beginning on February 5, 2007, Gutfeld served as host of the late-night talk show Red Eye on the Fox News Channel. The hour-long show initially aired at 2:00 A.M. ET Monday through Saturday mornings and at 11:00 P.M. on Saturday evenings. However, beginning in October 2007, the show began airing at 3:00 A.M. Monday through Saturday mornings while retaining its 11:00 P.M timeslot on Saturday evenings. From 2007 to 2013, Bill Schulz served as Gutfeld's sidekick, and Andy Levy served as the show's ombudsman. Schulz had been Gutfeld's colleague at Stuff magazine, and Levy was a fellow blogger at The Huffington Post . On July 11, 2011, Gutfeld became a co-host and panelist on the Fox News political talk show The Five , which airs weekdays at 5:00 P.M. ET. ^[11] Gutfeld left Red Eye in February 2015, with Tom Shillue succeeding him as host of the program. ^[12] On May 31, 2015, Gutfeld began hosting a new weekly late-night talk show on Fox News called The Greg Gutfeld Show ; which aired at 10:00 P.M. ET on Saturdays. In February 2021, it was announced that, beginning in the second quarter, the show would move to weeknights at 11:00 P.M. ET. ^[13] On March 10, 2021, it was announced that the new weeknight show would be called Gutfeld! and premiere on April 5. ^[14] In August 2021, Gutfeld! overtook The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the nightly ratings, becoming the highest-rated late-night talk show in the United States. It averaged 2.12 million nightly viewers, more than The Late Show , The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , and Jimmy Kimmel Live! . ^[15]

By the end of 2021, the combined viewership for Gutfeld! and The Five averaged over five million viewers. ^[16]

Gutfeld has appeared as a guest on Coffee with Scott Adams ^{[17] [18]} and The Adam Carolla Show. ^[19]

Recognition

In late 2021, Gutfeld was named the 12th-most influential person in American media by the Mediaite website. ^[16]

Controversies

Apology to Canadians

During a Red Eye segment that aired on March 17, 2009, Gutfeld and his panel discussed Canadian Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie's statement that the Canadian Armed Forces may require a one-year "synchronized break" once Canada's mission in Afghanistan ended in 2011: "Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants." ^[20] The comedian panelist Doug Benson added: "I didn't even know they were in the war.... I thought that's where you go if you don't want to fight. Go chill in Canada." ^[20] Gutfeld also said: "Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!" ^[20]

The segment was posted to YouTube three days after the reported deaths of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, prompting widespread outrage. ^{[21] [22] [23]} Canada had then been in command of the NATO mission in Kandahar Province, the birthplace and former capital of the Taliban, for three years. ^[24] Along with Helmand Province, it was "home to some of the fiercest opposition to coalition forces" and reported to "have the highest casualty rates per province." ^[25]

Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay called on Fox to apologize for the comments and described the remarks as "despicable, hurtful and ignorant." ^[26] Gutfeld, while maintaining that the show is satirical and irreverent, offered the following apology: "The March 17 episode of Red Eye included a segment discussing Canada's plan for a 'synchronized break,' which was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts. However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women, and families of the Canadian military, and for that, I apologize." ^{[26] [27]}

Russia's invasion of Ukraine

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Gutfeld said that the media were emotionally manipulating viewers with footage from the conflict "...because that makes a profit for news companies." ^{[28] [29]} Gutfeld was rebuked by Fox News foreign affairs correspondent Benjamin Hall who was on the ground in Kyiv: "This is not the media trying to drum up some emotional response. This is absolutely what's happening." ^{[28] [29]} A few days later, Hall was seriously injured, while Pierre Zakrzewski (who also works for Fox) and a Ukrainian journalist were killed, in a surprise attack on the journalists by Russian forces. ^[30]

Comments on the Holocaust

During the July 24, 2023, broadcast of The Five, Gutfeld and co-host Jessica Tarlov discussed an educational curriculum in Florida public schools that would teach students that "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit". ^[31] Tarlov, who said she is Jewish, disagreed with the curriculum and asked if this could be argued for those who perished in the Holocaust. Gutfeld then invoked Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning , implying that those who survived the Holocaust had to be skilled or useful. ^[31]

On July 25, the Auschwitz Memorial disagreed with Gutfeld's statement, writing on Twitter: "While it is true that some Jews may have used their skills or usefulness to increase their chances of survival during the Holocaust, it is essential to contextualize this statement properly and understand that it does not represent the complex history of the genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany." ^[32] The same day, Andrew Bates, deputy White House press secretary, called Gutfeld's comments "a horrid, dangerous, extreme lie that insults the memory of the millions of Americans who suffered from the evil of enslavement". ^[33] The Daily Beast also reported that unnamed Fox News employees strongly disagreed with Gutfeld's statements. One producer stated it was "a disgusting thing to say" while another insider claimed "his career would be over." ^[34]

Personal life

Gutfeld said that he voted by mail in the 2016 presidential election, but The Washington Post could find no evidence in voting records. Gutfeld thinks it is possible that he missed the official deadline. ^[16]

As of 2018 ^[update] , Gutfeld resides in New York City with his Russian wife, Elena Moussa. He met the photo editor in London, where he lived for three years. ^{[7] [35] [16]}

On December 10, 2024, on the Fox show The Five , it was announced that Gutfeld and his wife Elena had recently welcomed a baby girl into their family. ^[36]

Gutfeld was raised Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy. ^[37] He describes himself as an "agnostic atheist". ^[35]

A fan of hard rock and heavy metal music, Gutfeld has spoken on-air about being a fan of many bands, including Power Trip. Gutfeld paid tribute to Power Trip's singer Riley Gale after his death in 2020. ^[38] Members of the heavy metal band GWAR have appeared several times on his show. ^[39]

Gutfeld is also a self-described libertarian. ^[40]

Books

Gutfeld at a book signing for his book Not Cool (March 2014)

• The Scorecard: The Official Point System for Keeping Score in the Relationship Game. Henry Holt and Company. 1997. p.  182. ISBN   978-0-8050-5450-7.
• The Scorecard at Work: The Official Point System for Keeping Score on the Job . Henry Holt and Company. 1999. p. 160. ISBN   978-0-8050-5865-9.
• Lessons from the Land of Pork Scratchings. Simon & Schuster. 2008. p. 224. ISBN   978-1-84737-066-2.
• The Bible of Unspeakable Truths . Grand Central Publishing. 2010. p. 304. ISBN   978-0-446-55230-1.
• The Joy of Hate: How to Triumph over Whiners in the Age of Phony Outrage . New York: Crown Forum. 2012. p. 256. ISBN   978-0307986962.
• Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You. New York: Crown Forum. 2014. p. 272. ISBN   978-0804138536.
• How To Be Right: The Art of Being Persuasively Correct. New York: Crown Forum. 2015. ISBN   978-1101903629.
• The Gutfeld Monologues: Classic Rants from the Five. New York: Threshold Editions. 2018. ISBN   978-1501190728.
• The Plus: Self-Help for People Who Hate Self-Help. Threshold Editions. 2020. ISBN   978-1982149918.

See also

• New Yorkers in journalism

References

1. "Greg Gutfeld has risen to the top at Fox News — and that's no joke". Washington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
2. Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld . March 7, 2013. Fox News.
3. "Jacqueline "Jackie" Gutfeld Obituary – San Mateo, California". Sneider & Sullivan & O'Connell's Funeral Home at Tributes.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
4. Bluey, Robert B. (June 16, 2006). "Q&A With Greg Gutfeld: The Cool Conservative". Human Events . Archived from the original on March 27, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
5. "On Air Personalities: Greg Gutfeld". Fox News Channel. March 1, 2012.
6. Gurley, George (May 22, 2007). "Red Eye for the Straight Guy". The New York Observer . Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
7. Mangu-Ward, Katherine (October 2009). "'What You're Left With Is Libertarianism'". Reason . Retrieved October 28, 2010.
8. St. John, Warren (May 4, 2003). "A Publishing Pest Moves On". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
9. Farey-Jones, Daniel (March 10, 2006). "Gutfeld leaves Maxim after circulation dropped 16.2%". Brand Republic .
10. "Greg Gutfeld". The Huffington Post.
11. "The Five". Fox News.
12. Steinberg, Brian (February 26, 2015). "Fox News Channel Developing Weekend Program for Greg Gutfeld". Variety . Retrieved March 6, 2015.
13. Johnson, Ted (February 10, 2021). "Fox News Expands 'The Greg Gutfeld Show' To Weeknights At 11 PM". Deadline. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
14. Flood, Brian (March 10, 2021). "Fox News' late-night program 'Gutfeld!' to kick off on April 5". Fox News. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
15. Ellefson, Lindsey (August 19, 2021). "Fox News' 'Gutfeld!' Finally Overtook Colbert's 'Late Show' in Viewers Tuesday". Yahoo!. The Wrap. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
16. Roig-Franzia, Manuel (January 10, 2022). "Greg Gutfeld has risen to the top at Fox News - and that". Stamford Advocate . The Washington Post . Retrieved January 10, 2022.
17. "Real Coffee with Scott Adams: Episode 1083 Scott Adams: Guest Greg Gutfeld Talks About His New Best Seller the Plus, then on to the Headlines on Apple Podcasts".
18. "Real Coffee with Scott Adams - Episode 1083 Scott Adams: Guest Greg Gutfeld Talks About His New Best Seller the Plus, then on to the Headlines".
19. "The Adam Carolla Show: ACS: Greg Gutfeld".
20. "Fox host lampoons Canadian military's synchronized break during wartime". CBC News. March 23, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
21. "Fox News mocks Canadian military". Cnews.canoe.ca. March 22, 2009. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
22. Kathleen Harris, National Bureau Chief (March 22, 2009). "U.S. talk show ridicules Canadian soldiers | News". Toronto Sun. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
23. "Fox News host apologizes for mocking Canadian military_English_Xinhua". News.xinhuanet.com. March 24, 2009. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
24. Susan Sachs (July 7, 2011). "Canada transfers command in Kandahar to U.S." The Globe and Mail . Retrieved August 4, 2016.
25. Manav Tanneeru and Lindsey Knight (October 3, 2011). "The Afghan war 10 years later: A look at the numbers". CNN . Archived from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
26. "Fox host apologizes for mocking of Canadian Forces". CBC News. March 23, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
27. Greg Gutfeld (February 8, 2010). "Many quotes of Gutfeld, Schulz and Levy harshly lampooning each other during three years of Red Eye". Fox News Channel. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
28. "Fox News reporter rebukes Greg Gutfeld for saying media wants 'emotional response' in Ukraine coverage". The Washington Post . 2022.
29. "Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall injured while reporting in Ukraine". www.cbsnews.com. March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
30. "Fox News' Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshinova killed in Kyiv". BBC News. March 15, 2022. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
31. Arkin, Daniel (July 25, 2023). "Auschwitz Memorial criticizes Fox News' Greg Gutfeld for saying Jews survived Nazi camps by being 'useful'". NBC News. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
32. Darcy, Oliver (July 26, 2023). "White House condemns Fox News over 'dangerous and extreme' Holocaust comments from top host". CNN. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
33. Peters, Jeremy W. (July 26, 2023). "White House Condemns Fox News Over Host's Holocaust Comments" . The New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
34. Baragona, Justin (July 25, 2023). "Fox Insiders Shudder at Gutfeld's Latest Holocaust Controversy: 'Yikes'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
35. "Red Eye 8-15-2011". Fox News Radio. August 15, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2012. (Minute 5:44) If there was something that could do this then I wouldn't be an agnostic slash atheist.. (Minute 6:10) I wish this stuff was true because then that would validate my religious beliefs which that I do not have any which have kind of faded away
36. "Greg Gutfeld and his wife welcome a baby girl". Fox News. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
37. Gutfeld, Greg (2010). The Bible of Unspeakable Truths. New York City: Hachette Book Group. ASIN   B004X8W7XS.
38. "Fox News host Greg Gutfeld pays tribute to Riley Gale of Power Trip". NME . August 27, 2020.
39. "Gwar's Oderus Urungus responds to allegations of a bromance with Fox Red Eye's Greg Gutfeld".
40. Katerine Mangu-Ward (September 18, 2009). "Reason magazine "What You're Left With Is Libertarianism"". Reason .

Sources

• Robertson, Campbell (April 10, 2007). "At 2 A.M., Dark Humor Meets the Lights". The New York Times . Retrieved August 17, 2008.
• Whitehouse, David (June 16, 2007). "News crash!". The Guardian . Retrieved August 17, 2008.

External links

• Official website
• Gutfeld! at Fox News Channel
• Greg Gutfeld archives at The Huffington Post
• Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld at Fox News Channel
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Greg Gutfeld on Twitter
• The Daily Gut (blog site)
• Greg Gutfeld at IMDb