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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.
Greg Gutfeld | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Gutfeld in 2021 | |
| Born | Gregory John Gutfeld September 12, 1964 San Mateo, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer | Fox News |
| Television | |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Spouse |
Elena Moussa (m. 2004) |
| Children | 1 |
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]
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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.
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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]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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- 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.
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