Former ABC News Anchor Kendis Gibson Says 2018 Sui@ide Attempt Was Partially Due To Alleged Racist, Toxic Culture At The Network

Former ABC News Anchor Kendis Gibson Says 2018 Sui@ide Attempt Was Partially Due To Alleged Racist, Toxic Culture At The Network

Kendis Gibson, former anchor of World News Now, alleges a troubling workplace culture at ABC News contributed to an attempt to take his own life in 2018.

In his new memoir, “Five Trips,” the TV personality details his 5-year journey experimenting with psychedelic dr*gs to combat several mental health struggles, which he says included depression, panic attacks and sui@idal ideation.

While Gibson admits that some of his health concerns were underlying prior to landing his “dream job” at ABC in 2014, he claims experiencing covert racism while working for the network exacerbated the situation.

 

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Gibson recalls in the book being welcomed to the team, alleging he was told by a fellow unnamed Black anchor “Welcome to Mickey’s plantation.” When he asked what the individual meant, Gibson says the person responded:

“You’ll find out.”

The anchor noted that he did eventually come to understand the comment, alleging that a former ABC executive would later make a passively racist comment to him, stating:

“You’re doing television news now, not attending a rap concert. Don’t ever wear jeans again.”

He also claims that his efforts to push for diversity were allegedly met with retaliation, noting that a culmination of the situation at ABC, as well as his use of substances like Ambien to cope, prompted a sui@ide attempt that was narrowly averted.

Gibson says that after a few years of seeing “the racism taking place,” he declined a contract extension and $10,000 raise for the sake of his mental health.

It does not appear ABC has spoken publicly on the matter at this time.

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