A longtime New York City news anchor who was fired from a local ABC affiliate after he allegedly called his co-host a ‘c***’ once worked as a priest in Florida.
Ken Rosato, 56, was terminated earlier this month after making crass comments towards his co-anchor Shirleen Allicot that were caught on a hot mic.
He worked in a church in Hollywood, Florida, called the Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Community while he was pursuing a journalism career.
The church was started in October 2000 by a small group of Catholics in the local area, which included Rosato, but he later moved to New York City in 2003 to take up a role as a freelance reporter.
He has yet to comment on his dismissal and WABC did not respond to a request for comment.
Longtime New York City news anchor Ken Rosato, 56, (left) who was fired from the local ABC affiliate after he allegedly called his co-host a ‘c***’ once worked as a priest in Florida
Rosato has reportedly been fired from his position after he was caught on a hot mic calling his co-anchor Shirleen Allicot the slur
Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Community was started by a group of worshipers, including Rosato, because they wanted to ‘worship in an accepting environment that offered Catholic tradition with valid sacraments.’
The church is not directly associated with Roman Catholicism but it said it respected the religious institution and follows similar ideals.
But it allows divorce and contraception, which the Roman Catholic Church is firmly against.
Its mission statement reads: ‘Worshippers can feel free to attend our masses knowing that they will not be judged for their human frailties.’
Rosato presided as a priest until he moved to New York City to take up a role as a freelance reporter at Eyewitness News in 2003.
He was later promoted to morning and noon anchor in 2007 but it is believed he worked as both a journalist and priest at the same time.
Rosato presided over a wedding ceremony in October 2007 for his fellow news reporter Tamsen Fadal and her now ex-husband Matt Titus, according to the New York Times.
It is unclear if or when the news anchor stopped practicing as a priest but he enjoyed a successful journalism career and worked at ABC 7 until May 12 when he was dismissed.
Rosato (right) worked in a church in Hollywood called the Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Community while he was pursuing a journalism career
Rosato reportedly made an ‘off-color’ remark off-air and was fired ‘immediately with cause’
The local news station has yet to comment publicly about his abrupt firing earlier this month
Originally, it was thought he had made a racist comment, but his agent vehemently denied the claims.
‘Being fired for any racial slur is 100 percent inaccurate and untrue. Ken Rosato had a benchmark of 20 years at WABC of supporting all equality,’ his spokesman said.
An insider said Rosato was ‘immediately let go’ and he was ‘fired for cause’ but didn’t go any further in what led to the dismissal.
His former colleagues were told about his firing on Friday in a series of one-on-one meetings. They were not told what Rosato said.
An email was also sent out to staff that said he was ‘no longer with WABC. We thank him for his years of service.’
Rosato started with ABC New York in 2003 as a freelance reporter for the brand’s Eyewitness News show.
In 2007, Rosato was given a shot at the anchor desk and remained there hosting This Morning alongside Shirleen Allicot, Heather O’Rourke and Sam Champion.
Rosato’s presence has been scrubbed from ABC New York’s website and social media, including a profile segment that was done on him in September 2020.
He has not tweeted since May 2.
Rosato started with ABC New York in 2003 as a freelance reporter for the brand’s Eyewitness News show. He is pictured here speaking during the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in 2020
In 2007, Rosato was given a shot at the anchor desk and remained there hosting This Morning alongside Shirleen Allicot, Heather O’Rourke and Sam Champion. He is pictured with Billy Porter and Lauren Glassberg in 2019
In a 2020 interview, Rosato described his ascent to the anchor desk at ABC New York as the ‘most glorious moment’ of his life
In the profile, Rosato says his first love was opera and that his dream job was to become a veterinarian. The former anchor also talked about his love of cooking in the piece.
During the interview, Rosato was asked what the most glorious moment of his life was, the anchor responded by saying it was when he was asked to front ABC New York’s news program.
‘I was a full time freelance reporter, I had a chance to fill-in anchoring. The ratings spiked. The ratings spiked.
‘Then I was told: ‘We are offering you a new contract. You are our new morning anchor.’ Which was the moment I dreamed about for about 20 years and it came true.’
According to his LinkedIn page, Rosato previously worked for Fox New York and for CBS Miami before landing at the ABC affiliate. He is a graduate of NYU, where he studied radio, Italian and Spanish.
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