The television network has fired Vic Faust, a former Missouri football player and current Fox 2 anchor who last week launched a vulgar diatribe at a female co-host of a nearby radio show.
Faust and Crystal Cooper co-host “The Edge” morning show on Missouri’s KFNS-FM (100.7). In the leaked recording, which was made shortly after the radio show’s taping on September 13, he repeatedly used foul language when denigrating Cooper.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, station general manager Kurt Krueger stated on Wednesday morning that Vic Faust no longer works for Fox 2, KPLR (Channel 11), or Nexstar Media. The parent company of Fox 2 is Nexstar Media Group.
Faust apologized on Twitter that afternoon, deleting his account a day or two later.
“My words hurt Crystal, my colleagues and family,” he wrote. “I made a huge mistake and I’m ashamed. As I work to earn trust again, I hope we can have an open dialogue about respect in the workplace and forgiveness.”
In a YouTube video the radio station posted, the outburst seems to have begun after the show’s final moments, when Cooper sarcastically claimed Faust had called her “dumb” on-air the day before and took offense to the co-host insulting his computer skills.
Faust questioned Cooper’s parenting abilities and her weight, calling her “fat.” At another point, he said, “Your kids have a (expletive) terrible mom. I feel sorry for them.”
Faust can also be heard repeatedly calling Cooper derogatory names that are bleeped out in the edited audio recording that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported was supplied anonymously and captured during the break.
Before the final commercial break, Faust said, Cooper repeatedly referred to “a dumb topic,” stated she shouldn’t bring up some topics, and branded her a “liar,” “immature,” and “stupid.”
In Cooper’s Facebook profile, she left the station the day after the incident.
From 2004 through 2015, Faust was employed by WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) in Southfield. Prior to relocating to St. Louis in 2015, he served as the station’s weekend sports anchor before moving on to host the morning and noon Action News shows.
His outburst was reported Monday by the Post-Dispatch, and Faust did not return to the air following the recorded off-air video sent anonymously to the local newspaper via tip line.