Fox News staffers are reportedly 'shocked' and 'visibly upset' by Shep Smith's departure

Shep Smith's abrupt and somewhat mysterious departure from Fox News on Friday afternoon has reportedly left his colleagues at the network reeling. Although Smith claimed on air to have requested to leave Fox in order to "begin a new chapter," there is uncertainty surrounding the exact circumstances: NBC News' Jo Ling Kent reports that he was "escorted out [of the building] by security," while The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr says a Fox News spokesman has told him that isn't true.

Kent additionally said that her sources at the network described staffers as "shocked" and "visibly upset" by the sudden announcement of Smith's departure. Smith had been at Fox News for more than two decades, but in recent years had become one of the network's most outspoken critics of President Trump.

The president has heightened his attacks on Fox News in recent weeks, including tweeting on Thursday that Shep Smith is among the people who have made it so the network "doesn't deliver for [the] U.S. anymore."

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