Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Amid a growing controversy surrounding a relationship between “GMA3” coT. J. Holmes and Amy Robach, ABC News president Kimberly God win told employees Monday that she will temporarily take them off the air while the network decides a course of action. The relationship was first disclosed Wednesday by the Daily Mail, which published an account of the hosts’ off-set relationship that included photos of the pair in romantic poses. ABC News management was unaware of the relationship before that story appeared. While the network did not comment on the report, Holmes, a West Memphis native and University of Arkansas alumnus, and Robach appeared on air together as usual Thursday. They did not acknowledge or address the report about their relationship. Godwin told staff Monday that the relationship between Holmes and Robach, who are both married to other people, did not violate company policy, according to a person at the company with knowledge of her comments, but said the dynamic “has become an internal and an external distraction.” “These decisions are not easy … but they are necessary for the brand and for our priority which, you guys know, are all of us — the people here at ABC,” Godwin told employees. Holmes and Robach have not publicly discussed their relationship, though Robach made a brief comment Friday to the Daily Mail. “I’ve gotten a lot of support,” she said. “I appreciate everything and I’m happy to be going to work.”
■ Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, will no longer be a paid commentator on Fox News, the network announced over the weekend. “We appreciate Lara’s valuable contributions across Fox News Media programming,” a Fox News representative told The Washington Post on Sunday. A source with knowledge of the situation said the decision to sever ties with Trump stemmed solely from the network’s ban on political campaign activity, although the policy generally applies to commentators who announce their own campaign runs. When Fox hired Trump as a contributor back in 2021, she had already been appearing so regularly on Fox that “the security guards were like, ‘Maybe we should just give you a key,’” she joked. Although Trump was weighing the possibility of a Senate run in her home state of North Carolina at the time she was hired, she did not end up running for the seat and has not announced any other run for political office. She also does not appear to be working on the Donald Trump 2024 campaign in an official capacity, although she served as a campaign adviser for his 2020 run. Although she is no longer on the network’s payroll, she could still appear on the network as an unpaid guest.