ABC News is kicking off 2025 with a series of embarrassing headlines involving some of its biggest stars.
"World News Tonight" anchor David Muir was scorched by critics in a viral moment during Wednesday's broadcast as he was reporting from Pacific Palisades in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that have ravished Southern California.
Muir, wearing a yellow flame-resistant jacket with ABC News' logo in front, attempted to show viewers the rubble from burnt buildings behind him. But caught more attention was what was behind his own back.
As he turned away from the camera, clothespins could be seen tightening Muir's jacket near his lower back, providing him a slimmer appearance for viewers.
ABC NEWS' MUIR MOCKED FOR MAKING HIS FIREFIGHTER COAT MORE FORM-FITTING FOR WILDFIRE REPORT
Jack Osbourne, TV personality and son of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, spotted the makeshift fashion accessory and called out the "World News" anchor on X.
"Nice Jacket Bro. Glad you look nice and svelte with those clothes line pegs, while our city burns to the ground," Osbourne reacted.
Other critics blasted Muir as "pathetic" and "narcissistic" as he faced accusations of prioritizing his appearance while reporting on the widespread devastation in Los Angeles.
Muir wasn't the only ABC star depicted in an unflattering light. "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin was at the center of social media chatter after it was reported that her husband was facing medical fraud accusations in a sweeping federal lawsuit filed last month.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Emmanuel "Manny" Hostin and his practice, Hostin Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, were named among more than 180 defendants in a major RICO case filed in New York on Dec. 17.
According to The Daily Mail, Hostin and the other defendants were allegedly receiving "kickbacks" for performing surgeries and fraudulently billing the insurance company that provides for Uber, Lyft and other taxi companies. The lawsuit alleges Hostin was given an "investment" interest in the Empire State Ambulatory Surgery Center while receiving a "steady stream" of patient referrals in return.
Two of Hostin's patients cited in the lawsuit were allegedly treated in January 2023 following involvement in "low-impact" collisions that were said to have only caused minimal damage, "no more than soft-tissue injuries," but both received arthroscopic surgery.
Hostin's attorney told The Daily Mail his client denies all the allegations and called the filing a "blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier."
In the wake of her husband's legal troubles, comments made by Sunny Hostin herself have resurfaced.
Hostin spoke about her husband's work on "The View" as recently as last month while discussing the health insurance industry in the aftermath of the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
"Doctors suffer because of big corporations as well, doctors that want to do good like my husband," Hostin told her colleagues. "[He] operates on someone even though they don't have insurance and then has to sue health insurance companies to get paid for the work that he's been trained his whole life to do."
Additionally, comments Hostin made in March 2023 about the severity of insurance fraud went viral as she discussed potential charges against former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who had been serving a prison sentence for tax fraud.
"Prosecutors are like ‘Oh really? Well how about we add some additional fraud charges onto you?' And they're talking about threatening him with insurance fraud, which I would say you could get 20 years in prison. So that's a death sentence for him," Hostin said at the time.
While some headlines have created fodder for critics, others signal drama inside the Disney-owned network. ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl was reportedly "gunning" for his colleague George Stephanopoulos' spot as host of the Sunday morning news show "This Week" following the network's $15 million settlement with President-elect Donald Trump.
Page Six reported this week that Karl, who is a rotating host of "This Week" with Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz despite Stephanopoulos' name being in the title, "wants the show, and he sees [ABC’s Trump settlement] as an opportunity," according to sources.
A spokesperson for ABC News denied Karl's reported ambitions, telling Page Six "It’s not true. They have a friendly and mutually respectful relationship."
The settlement, which was made late last month, stemmed from comments Stephanopoulos made during an interview last March with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., when he claimed ten separate times Trump was found "liable for rape," when the jury in the E. Jean Carroll civil case actually determined him to be liable for "sexual abuse," which has a distinct definition under New York law.
Initially, Stephanopoulos was defiant in the face of Trump’s lawsuit, telling CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert that he wouldn’t be "cowed out of doing my job because of a threat."
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"Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss," Stephanopoulos told Colbert.
A judge ultimately tossed ABC News' motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit and settled with the president-elect in December before entering a costly trial. The decision to settle was reportedly made by Disney's top chief Bob Iger.
In addition to paying Trump's legal fees, Stephanopoulos and ABC News also had to issue statements of "regret" as an editor's note at the bottom of an article on ABC News' website. The note reads, "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024."
Liberal critics from rival networks, including CNN, NBC and MSNBC accused ABC News of "bending the knee" to Trump and setting a bad precedent.
The drama that has unfolded at ABC News in recent weeks comes on the heels of intense scrutiny over the network's election coverage, which was overseen by Disney co-chairman Dana Walden, a close friend of Vice President Kamala Harris (An ABC spokesperson previously stated Walden does not weigh in on editorial decisions.).
ABC News faced fierce backlash over its handling of the Trump-Harris presidential debate after Muir and his co-moderator Linsey Davis repeatedly fact-checked Trump while allowing Harris to go unchallenged.
