‘GMA3’ host’s tight biker-shorts controversy result of ABC laying off social media ‘nannies,’ staffers say
NY Post
ABC News staffers are blaming a dustup over provocative Instagram photos posted by “Good Morning America 3” co-host DeMarco Morgan on a wave of layoffs last year — with casualties including executives whose duties included monitoring the social media accounts of the network’s on-air talent, The Post has learned.
The Post reported Wednesday that ABC News brass have raised alarms over the photos of Morgan posing in skin-tight bike shorts — drawing a tide of racy responses including fire, heart and eggplant emojis — and have since been wrestling over how to address it with the hunky anchor.
“Disney is a family-friendly business. His Instagram has ABC News all over it,” the source said. “A journalist should report the news, not be the news. I don’t know how they could expect audiences to take him seriously.”
One well-placed insider told The Post that ABC News president Kim Godwin paved the way for the ruckus in March 2023 by laying off the Disney-owned network’s highest ranking talent executives — who normally would police staffers’ social media and handle other grievances — and failing to replace them.
The images of the chiseled Morgan, which have reportedly led his colleagues to dub the 45-year-old avid biker “DeYummy,” are a distraction, the source said, adding that one photo “literally” shows the anchor’s “whole package.”
Neither ABC News nor DeMarco responded to requests for comment.