KSAZ evening co-anchor Kari Lake has been missing from the Phoenix, Ariz. station’s anchor desk since the beginning of the year. But after fans and viewers speculated on social media about her status with the station, she finally shared the reason behind her absence.
“Since the beginning of January, I have been out on health leave using FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act),” Lake wrote in an explanation she shared on Twitter Thursday. “I have not been fired, demoted, reprimanded, etc. I remain a 20+ year employee at Fox in good standing. I will leave it at that — preferring to keep some things private.”
Lake said that she had “absolutely no desire to address” her absence publicly, but felt compelled to do so after “the steady stream of inquiries and now some reporters reaching out with questions having very little to do with my absence and only intended to try to damage my reputation or personally hurt me.”
The longtime anchor found herself in the middle of controversy last year when she shared a video that included false information about Covid-19. In 2019, she was in hot water again after saying an expletive and disparaging a local newspaper during a Facebook Live recording.
Lake thanked her viewers for their prayers. “Please don’t worry,” she wrote. “I will be fine.”
Regarding my absence on tv: pic.twitter.com/zD3xpDEnmn
— Kari Lake (@KariLakeFox10) January 21, 2021