As RadarOnline reports, ex-World News Now anchor, Kendis Gibson, has made shocking claims against the longtime network ABC.
The 52-year-old has claimed he was surrounded by a toxic environment during his time at the network, even revealing he dealt with racism which led him to a suicide attempt
Gibson said he attempted suicide after being exposed to hazing, bullying and racism at the US news giant, all after another, unnamed Black correspondent welcomed him to “Mickey’s plantation” – a comparison of the network’s owner, Disney, to a slave-owning estate in the old American south.
“The sense I got from them was that it was in reference to veiled racism, and there was some truth to what was behind it,” Kendis Gibson told Page Six.
The former anchor who has an upcoming book titled, Five Trips: An Investigative Journey into Mental Health, Psychedelic Healing and Saving a Life, claims his mental health took a hit while working at ABC.
Gibson joined ABC News in Washington DC in 2014 and soon moved to New York, where he hosted an overnight show. Network stars including Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos welcomed him, he said, but his taxing hours contributed to “an underlying depression already there”.
One year later, Gibson took over the overnight position at World News Now from T.J. Holmes, who along with Amy Robach, was fired in 2023 after the revelation of their off-camera relationship.
“You’re doing television news now, not attending a rap concert.”
However, from the get-go Gibson felt the pressure and dread of the gig, as he stated: “There was an underlying depression already there,” and added he had to rely on on Ambien to deal with insomnia and anxiety during his time at the position.
According to The Guardian, his bosses would not listen to his requests to change to more sociable hours, Gibson said, so he turned to the drug Ambien, to cope with insomnia and anxiety.
While Gibson dealt with the pressure of handling his assignments, he also claims he dealt with covert racism. The anchor recalled a time a boss called him out for wearing jeans on air.
Gibson claimed the executive said: “You’re doing television news now, not attending a rap concert. Don’t ever wear jeans again.” Gibson claimed the same person retaliated against him after he helped lead a “Diversity Task Force”, to encourage management to hire more black employees in top positions.
The stress was too much for Gibson, who after returning home from anchoring the overnight newscast, he took two Ambien with two glasses of Chardonnay, and cried himself to sleep. He then resigned to ending his life by preparing himself to jump from his window. However, he fell back and landed on the kitchen floor, and was later found by his BFF, Mike Woods.
According to Gibson, he returned to work just hours after the suicide attempt — and also started seeing a therapist, who prescribed depression and anxiety meds.