{"id":424796,"date":"2024-11-27T09:15:10","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T09:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=424796"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Ex-ABC-News-Anchor-Kendis-Gibson-Says-Toxic-Work-Culture-Led-to-Suicide-Attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Ex-ABC-News-Anchor-Kendis-Gibson-Says-Toxic-Work-Culture-Led-to-Suicide-Attempt\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-ABC News Anchor Kendis Gibson Says Toxic Work Culture Led to Suicide Attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/world-news-tonight-with-david-muir\/\"><em>World News Now<\/em><\/a> anchor Kendis Gibson has claimed a toxic work environment at ABC News contributed to his 2018 suicide attempt.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2024\/11\/25\/entertainment\/abc-anchor-claims-racism-contributed-to-suicide-attempt\/?_gl=1*18sihqd*_ga*MTM5MDU5MjAzLjE3MjE2NDU5MDQ.*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*MTczMjYyODc4OS4xMjMuMS4xNzMyNjI4ODE3LjMyLjAuMA..\"><em>Page Six,<\/em><\/a> Gibson opens up about his time at the news network in his new memoir, <em>Five Trips: An Investigative Journey into Mental Health, Psychedelic Healing and Saving a Life,<\/em> where he reveals how he experimented with illegal drugs to help battle through his mental health issues.<\/p>\n<p>The Belizean-born journalist joined ABC News in 2014 as a correspondent and said he initially received a \u201cheartwarming reception\u201d from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/show\/good-morning-america\/\"><em>Good Morning America<\/em><\/a> hosts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/robin-roberts\/\">Robin Roberts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/michael-strahan\/\">Michael Strahan<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/george-stephanopoulos\/\">George Stephanopoulos<\/a>. Speaking of Roberts\u2019 on-air welcome, Gibson said it was like his \u201cofficial anointing by the queen of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Gibson said that off-air, an unnamed Black correspondent warned him, \u201cWelcome to Mickey\u2019s plantation.\u201d When Gibson asked the person to elaborate, he claims he was told, \u201cYou\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sense I got from them was that it was in reference to veiled racism, and there was some truth to what was behind it,\u201d Gibson told <em>Page Six<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NhLv7eZNkpU?si=nAEtF--Xqw9fNwhT\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Gibson started out at the network\u2019s Washington, D.C. headquarters before moving to Los Angeles and later New York, where he eventually took over as anchor of <em>World News Now<\/em> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/people\/t-j-holmes\/\">T.J. Holmes<\/a>. But it was this gig where the mental toll started to show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNineteen co-anchors during the course of my time there,\u201d Gibson said, referring to the revolving door of on-air talent on <em>World News Now<\/em>. \u201cThere was an underlying depression already there,\u201d he shared but noted how his time on the show exacerbated his issues.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his pleas to move off the desk, Gibson claimed his bosses ignored his requests. He then started relying on Ambien to deal with insomnia and anxiety while \u201ctrying to perform at the top of the game\u2026 at an overnight show [and] during the day. It was just a lot, and the network was not listening to me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also alleged racism, recalling a time a boss called him to admonish him for wearing jeans on air. \u201c\u2018You\u2019re doing television news now, not attending a rap concert. Don\u2019t ever wear jeans again,&#8217;\u201d Gibson claimed he was told by this now-fired exec.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was so na\u00efve\u2026 I had rose-colored glasses on. I didn\u2019t think there was racism taking place. I didn\u2019t see all the indications,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Gibson also believes the same exec took it out on him after he helped spearhead a Diversity Task Force to encourage the hiring of more Black employees in senior positions. He claimed his appearances on <em>GMA<\/em> dropped from 212 in his first two years down to eight after he created the task force.<\/p>\n<p>On October 12, 2018, Gibson attempted to take his own life. He revealed how he took two Ambien with two glasses of Chardonnay and cried himself to sleep. When he woke up hours later, he texted his then-partner goodbye and prepared to jump from his kitchen window. However, the drugs in his system sent him tumbling back to the kitchen floor instead.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-callout\">\n<div class=\"inline-callout-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1154967\/t-j-holmes-amy-robach-home-marriage-engaged-children\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"156\" width=\"240\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/tj-holmes-amy-robach-234x155.jpg\" alt=\"Amy Robach &amp; T.J. Holmes Reveal They&#039;ve Finally Moved In Together &amp; What&#039;s Next\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-callout-label\">Related<\/div>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1154967\/t-j-holmes-amy-robach-home-marriage-engaged-children\/\">Amy Robach &amp; T.J. Holmes Reveal They&#8217;ve Finally Moved In Together &amp; What&#8217;s Next<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He woke up in bed with his best friend, Mike Woods, watching over him. Woods and others, including <em>World News Now<\/em>\u2018s Diane Macedo, also staged an intervention. Gibson returned to the desk just hours after his suicide attempt. He also started seeing a therapist, who prescribed him depression and anxiety meds.<\/p>\n<p>Gibson later left ABC News and landed at MSNBC, but his problems still persisted, and he started dabbling in psychedelics to help his mental health issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI set out to write a book about my depression, and one thing led to another, and it just evolved into how different psychedelics helped me,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not pushing anybody into psychedelics, but hopefully it opens up a conversation and encourages people to explore alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gibson\u00a0returned to TV news earlier this year\u00a0as an anchor at <em>PIX11 News<\/em> in New York City.<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial<\/span><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\"><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">988<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>More Headlines:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1163970\/wendy-williams-health-update-dementia-aphasia-2\/\">Wendy Williams\u2019 Legal Guardian Shares Heartbreaking Health Update<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1163961\/kendis-gibson-abc-news-suicide-attempt\/\">Ex-ABC News Anchor Kendis Gibson Says Toxic Work Culture Led to Suicide Attempt<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1163622\/dune-prophecy-emily-watson-olivia-williams-travis-fimmel-cast-interview\/\">\u2018Dune: Prophecy\u2019 Cast on Making a Legendary World Their Own (VIDEO)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1163948\/christina-haack-josh-hall-divorce-kim-kardashian-hgtv\/\">Christina Haack Hires Kim Kardashian\u2019s Divorce Lawyer Amid Split From Josh Hall<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/1163944\/rachael-ray-marriage-health-husband-john-cusimano-podcast\/\">Rachael Ray Opens Up About Marriage Drama &amp; Getting \u2018Really Angry\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former World News Now anchor Kendis Gibson has claimed a toxic work environment at ABC&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-424796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-and-style"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}