Ex-Michigan TV broadcaster fired after off-air attack on radio co-host

Former Michigan broadcaster Vic Faust was fired from his job as an anchor on the Fox affiliate in St. Louis after a recording of him berating a female radio colleague last week was leaked.

Faust co-hosts "The Edge" morning show on KFNS-FM (100.7) radio station in Missouri with Crystal Cooper. He used profanity several times while insulting Cooper in the leaked recording just after the radio show finished recording on Sept. 13.

"Vic Faust no longer works for Fox 2, KPLR (Channel 11) or Nexstar Media,” station general manager Kurt Krueger told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Wednesday morning. 

Faust apologized on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

"My words hurt Crystal, my colleagues and family," he wrote. "I made a huge mistake and I’m ashamed. As I work to earn trust again, I hope we can have an open dialogue about respect in the workplace and forgiveness."

The incident reportedly unfolded Sept. 13 toward the end of "The Edge" morning show. The outburst appears to have started after the closing minutes of the show, when Cooper jokingly said Faust called her "stupid" on-air the previous day and objected to the co-host criticizing his computer skills, according to a YouTube video the radio station posted.

Faust went on to say Cooper referenced "a dumb topic," said she shouldn't be bringing up some subjects and called her a "liar" and "immature" and "stupid" several more times before the final commercial break.

In the edited clip of audio the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said was sent anonymously and recorded during the break, Faust can be heard repeatedly calling Cooper names that are bleeped out.

Cooper stopped working for the station the day that the incident occurred, according to her Facebook page.

Faust previously worked for WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) in Southfield from 2004-15. He started as the station's weekend sports anchor and moved on to anchor its Action News morning and noon shows before moving to St. Louis in 2015.

Staff Writer Mark Hicks contributed.

hmackay@detroitnews.com