Vic Faust was fired Wednesday morning, Fox 2 management said.
“Vic Faust no longer works for Fox 2, KPLR (Channel 11) or Nexstar media,” said Kurt Krueger, Fox 2 general manager. He declined to comment further, citing personnel restrictions. Nexstar Media Group is Fox 2’s parent company.
Faust used profanity at least 40 times in berating Crystal Cooper, who was part of Faust’s morning-drive show Sept. 13 on KFNS (100.7 FM), also known as “The Viper.”
Faust lambasted Cooper for her weight and parenting skills, and repeatedly addressed her by a curse word most commonly directed at women.
He also called her “fat,” “stupid” and “nasty,” and at one point said, “Your kids have a (expletive) terrible mom. I feel sorry for them.”
Faust has been a main news anchor for more than seven years at KTVI (Channel 2), the local Fox affiliate. He co-hosts the 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. weekday shifts with Mandy Murphey.
Faust was not on the air Monday or Tuesday, and the radio show appears to have been put on hold.
Krueger and news director Audrey Prywitch previously did not respond to numerous voicemail messages left Monday and Tuesday.
The outburst, which occurred off-air, was digitally recorded and sent anonymously to the Post-Dispatch tip line.
The spark for Faust’s harangue seems to have occurred in the closing minutes of last week’s radio show. Faust and Cooper engage in an uncomfortable exchange after Faust became irked by Cooper’s criticism of his computer skills.
At one point, Faust tells Cooper to not come back to the show.
“If you come back, I’m going to be in your (expletive) every (expletive) day,” Faust said, who added that he would “call you a (expletive) every day.”
The radio station is licensed out of Troy, Missouri, and its studios are in Lake Saint Louis. General manager Chris Blevins could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
After graduating from University of Missouri, where he played football, Faust worked in sports and news in Columbia and St. Joseph, Missouri; Tulsa; and Detroit. He left Detroit after 11 years to work at Fox 2.
