Staff Reports
Fox News just handed a microphone to Melissa DeRosa — the former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo who was at the center of the state’s nursing‑home data controversy. The network announced DeRosa will be a contributor and appear on a new weekly podcast, The Girls, which launches Oct. 1 and will run on Fox News Digital, YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Predictably, the hire has set off an immediate row over judgment and accountability.
Fox News names Melissa DeRosa to new show “The Girls”
Fox’s press announcement framed The Girls as a rotating show with strong female voices and said DeRosa will join that lineup. The network called her a veteran Democratic strategist and noted she served as Secretary to the Governor in New York. DeRosa posted that she was “excited” to join Fox as a contributor and to be part of the new podcast.
Her record: the nursing‑home data fight and the “we froze” line
The reason this hire is explosive is simple: DeRosa was the aide heard on a leaked 2021 call saying the Cuomo administration “froze” on releasing full nursing‑home figures because officials feared the numbers “was going to be used against us.” New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation later concluded the state undercounted nursing‑home deaths, and published figures jumped substantially when officials combined in‑facility and out‑of‑facility numbers. That history is not a distant footnote — it’s the headline here.
Why conservatives and victims are angry
People who lost loved ones in New York nursing homes, and advocates who fought for transparency, see this as more than politics. Critics — including Fox personalities who were personally hurt by those nursing‑home losses — say giving DeRosa a platform looks like rewarding someone tied to hiding information. There are also allegations that aides in that administration tried to discredit accusers of Governor Cuomo. For many, Fox’s decision feels like a tone‑deaf move that ignores the real people affected by those choices.
Fox’s pitch and the larger accountability question
Fox says The Girls will be “no‑holds‑barred” and that DeRosa brings experience and perspective. Fine — experience matters. But experience that includes helping shape what the public saw about thousands of vulnerable lives also deserves explanation. Will viewers get an honest interrogation of that record? Will DeRosa answer questions on air about the edits to health‑department reports and the rationale behind them? A press release is not the same as accountability.
At a time when trust in institutions is low and families still want answers, networks should think twice before elevating operatives who helped manage controversial cover‑ups. Fox can claim it wants varied voices. But giving a platform to someone tied to hiding crucial pandemic data without clear, public reckonings is asking viewers to accept a lot on faith. If DeRosa is joining to explain and defend her actions, put the hard questions on the table. If not, this hire looks less like programming and more like a ratings gamble at the expense of truth.
