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Fired Former ABC News Anchor Claims He Was Accused of Theft Because He’s Black

Amy Robach and TJ Holmes GMA3 What You Need to Know
Credit: ABC

Nearly a year and a half ago, ABC viewers were shocked when popular news anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes were suspended after it was revealed they were having a secret relationship. The GMA3; What You Need to Know cohosts were both married but insisted that their relationship did not start until they were both separated. In the end, they were terminated from their positions and stepped back from the spotlight, but continued with their relationship.

GMA 3 Amy Robach and TJ Holmes

Credit: ABC

Related: Viewers Stunned as Popular ABC Star is Suddenly Fired

The couple is still going strong — despite being fired because of love — and, in late 2023, it was announced that they would be hosting a new podcast called Amy & TJ. The podcast premiered on iHeartRadio on December 5 and fans of the anchors were excited to hear their unfiltered opinions and about their time with ABC.

On Monday, April 29, a new episode of Amy & TJ was released and Holmes shared a disturbing incident that he encountered recently while on a flight to Los Angeles.

Two television hosts, Amy Robach and TJ Holmes, smiling on a TV show set. The man wears a blue suit and the woman a beige blazer, with a kitchen background.

Credit: ABC

The former Good Morning America host said that he and Robach were flying to the Southland when he got up to use the restroom. When he left the restroom, he said that he was stopped by an older woman. He said that the woman accused him of stealing her phone and then tried to frisk him, before realizing that he did not have it.

Holmes wanted to know exactly why the woman thought that he would take her phone.

“At this point, she’s a short lady, so I actually scooch, I crouch down, I put my hands on my knees and get down to her level, and I say, ‘Ma’am, are you telling me I took your phone?’” he said. “And then she says, ‘Oh, no, but it was there,’ and then kind of ignores me.”

Amy Robach and TJ Holmes

Credit: Amy Robach, Instagram

The woman then discovered that her phone had fallen onto her seat, and she repeatedly apologized to Holmes. However, he felt that he would not have been accused of stealing it in the first place if he was not black. Robach agreed and said that sorry “doesn’t cut it” after the accusations the woman levied.

“If there weren’t more people around, I don’t think I would have bent down and would have been as assertive as I was because I wouldn’t have a witness that I wasn’t aggressive towards her or whatever it may be,” he admitted. “But that was a wild flight experience.”

TJ Homes and Amy Robach

Credit: ABC

Robach noted that the flight attendants were also apologetic for what happened to Holmes. She claimed that attendants said the woman had been “difficult” and “crazy” from the moment she stepped on the plane.

It was a crazy time at ABC News when T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach were fired and then suspended. They claimed that they were not with their ex-spouses before they started dating each other, but their exes — actor Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig — have not confirmed that story. And, in an interesting twist, Shue and Fiebig are now dating each other!

Amy Robach and TJ Holmes

Credit: Amy Robach, Instagram

Related: ABC Anchor Fired For Illicit Affair Says She Doesn’t Miss Her Job

There has been speculation that Holmes and Robach have been talking about getting married, but the two have not fed into those rumors and simply remain in a committed relationship.

Do you think the unknown woman targeted T.J. Holmes because he is black? Let us know in the comments!

About Krysten Swensen

A born and bred New England girl living the Disney life in Southern California. I love to read, to watch The Golden Girls, and love everything to do with Disney and Universal. I also love to share daily doses of Disney on my Disney Instagram @BrazzleDazzleDisney!