Fox News anchor Shepard Smith is
talking for the first time publicly about his recent coming out.
Smith indirectly acknowledged that he's
gay in an October interview with the HuffPost. In that
interview, Smith denied rumors that former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes
prohibited him from coming out.
(Related: Fox
News anchor Shepard Smith comes out gay.)
According to The Clarion-Ledger,
the 53-year-old Smith opened up about his sexuality during a speech
at the University of Mississippi's Meek School of Journalism's
conference on April 21.
Smith, who divorced Virginia Donald in
1993, reportedly told the crowd that he had “nothing to hide,”
and explained why he kept quiet for so long.
“A. You’re going to hell for it. B.
You’ll never have any friends again. C. What are you going to tell
your family? And by the way, you’re on television on the craziest
conservative network on Earth. That will probably put you in front
of a brick wall,” Smith
said. “Of course, none of that was true, but that’s how it
felt.”
Smith also revealed that he's in a
relationship.
“I don't think about it. It's not a
thing. I go to work. … I go home to the man I'm in love with,”
Smith said.