The Untold Truth Of Shepard Smith

Feelings Drama

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00:00Fox News fixture Shepard Smith isn't afraid to go against the grain.

00:04His ability to tell it like it is has garnered him praise, while also infuriating some more

00:08conservative viewers.

00:10But not much is known about the anchor's life outside the Fox News deck.

00:13This is the untold truth of Shepard Smith.

00:16I'm here to give the facts, and I don't really care what you think.

00:20Before he became one of the most recognizable personalities on cable television, Shepard

00:24Smith was a young boy living in Mississippi.

00:27And as Heavy reported, instead of becoming a cotton merchant like his dad or an English

00:31teacher like his mom, he would discover his true passion while watching live TV coverage

00:35of Elvis Presley's funeral, telling People,

00:37"...I liked the immediacy of it all."

00:39"...Thousands a day still in shock over the death of singer Elvis Presley."

00:43With Smith describing his younger self as a gadget geek who was mesmerized by the technology

00:48of the news, he told AJR,

00:50"...I knew I wanted to do that someday."

00:52F***!

00:53In Orange County, California, Shepard Smith, Fox News.

00:56During a speech at the University of Mississippi in 2017, Smith cited his workaholic tendencies

01:01as the reason it took him nearly nine years to come out as gay.

01:05Having already been married and divorced to a woman, he cited his perceived reservations

01:09at the time, saying,

01:10"...A, you're going to hell for it, B, you'll never have any friends again, C, what are you

01:14going to tell your family, and by the way, you're on television on the craziest conservative

01:18network on earth."

01:19Finally, in 2017, Smith decided to do it.

01:22He told Time Magazine,

01:23"...I have a long-time boyfriend, and we're as happy as we can be, and we live a very

01:27normal life.

01:28It's great for us.

01:29But I can't imagine anyone else finding it interesting."

01:32With a love for reporting live on assignment, exemplified by his on-the-ground coverage

01:36just days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Smith has witnessed it all.

01:40But while some may think being within the confines of a TV studio is a much safer and easier

01:45job, Smith told The Wrap,

01:47"...anchoring can be the most boring thing on earth.

01:49It's great, and I love the job.

01:51I'm certainly not complaining about it, but this is not where any reporter wants to be

01:54when news is breaking."

01:56So when you flip the channel to Fox and see Smith hard at work, just know that he's making

02:00the ultimate sacrifice by keeping his talents in the studio.

02:02"...I was here a year before the channel actually started, so I've been here 22 years."

02:08Many people see Shep as a unicorn on the Trump-loving network, and he'll unapologetically fact-check

02:12anyone who tries to spread fake news.

02:14"...you know, it's sort of our job to let you know when things are said that aren't true.

02:18This president keeps telling untrue things."

02:21So how does he continue to debunk his Fox colleagues' reports and the president's remarks

02:25without the higher-ups telling him to chill out?

02:28Smith told Time,

02:29"...if we start making changes, we are in extreme dereliction of duty.

02:32I cannot do it.

02:33I will not do it.

02:34I'll quit.

02:35I'll stop doing it completely."

02:37"...a lot of our audience is a right-wing audience.

02:39They're a conservative audience, they're a traditional audience.

02:42But it's not as if they don't understand that sometimes the facts aren't on your side."

02:46Smith signed a multi-year contract with the network in 2018, and while he had contemplated

02:50walking away, he knows viewers need him, saying,

02:53"...if I stop delivering the facts, what would go in its place in this place that is most watched,

02:57most listened, most viewed, most trusted?

02:59I don't know."

03:00"...if you get behind in today's news cycle, you will never catch up."

03:05Tune in any day to the Fox News deck and Smith will likely be dishing out the latest happenings

03:09with politicians and piecing together the facts for loyal viewers.

03:12But if Smith had it his way, he would shift his focus, telling The Wrap,

03:16"...I like the news.

03:17I like it when it's real and things are happening and we're able to find out from people who

03:21were there about things that affect people's lives.

03:24Politicians are boring."

03:25On any given day, he's navigating the latest technology, with a group of producers watching

03:29his every move.

03:30"...everything has changed in our business.

03:32Uh, when I came here, I had a pager."

03:35But he never dreamed he'd be anchoring a new show in his lifetime.

03:38He said,

03:39"...I like to run after stories.

03:41I never even thought about this.

03:43I was a scrawny, stupid kid from Mississippi.

03:45It never crossed my mind."

03:46And I'll see you on the Fox News deck whenever news warrants.

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