Updated April 8, 2026, 8:13 a.m. ET
- Taryn Asher has gained 10 Emmys for her work and been a Fox 2 Detroit lead anchor since 2022.
- Asher grew up in Fenton and is an alum of Michigan State University.
- Her attorney says he’s taking the mandatory steps for a gender discrimination lawsuit.
Veteran TV information anchor Taryn Asher has been fired by Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV) in what her lawyer describes as a case of gender discrimination.
Matthew Turner of the Southfield-based Sommers Schwartz litigation agency confirmed the information first reported by Deadline Detroit about Asher’s termination from the station.
Asher has been off the air since November 2025. Neither she nor Fox 2 Detroit administration has commented publicly on the explanation why.
On Tuesday, April 7, Turner instructed the Free Press that Asher was suspended in November for “a very short time period” after which, shortly afterward, was fired.
According to Turner, Asher had not been handled pretty when it comes to “assignments, scheduling, guests” in contrast with her male anchor colleague and wished the equal therapy she had obtained from the station’s prior administration.
In 2022, Asher and Roop Raj took over as Fox 2 Detroit’s lead anchors from longtime anchors Huel Perkins and Monica Gayle, who each retired that yr. In 2025, Paul McGonagle took over as senior vice chairman and basic supervisor of Fox 2 Detroit.
Efforts by the Free Press to contact McGonagle, Fox 2 Detroit information director Brooks Blanton and a spokesperson for the station weren’t profitable.
Turner stated Asher raised the problems of unfairness to administration earlier than she was fired. “She was being treated differently because of her gender from her male counterpart, and they retaliated against her for raising those concerns.”
Turner stated he’s taking the mandatory steps for pursuing a gender discrimination lawsuit. “We filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is the first step,” he stated. “And then the next step is litigation.”
Turner stated he and Asher are “very optimistic that the facts are going to come out in court and she is going to be vindicated, that this was clearly unwarranted. … She’s devoted a major portion of her professional life to her career at Fox 2. To have it all taken away from her has been devastating.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Asher was nonetheless listed as an anchor at 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. on the employees web page of WJBK’s web site. She describes herself on the positioning as having “a deep passion for truth, accountability, and connection.”
In February, Asher mentioned her months-long absence from the airwaves on social media with out moving into specifics.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and kindness these past 3 months,” she posted on X (previously Twitter) on Feb. 19. “I miss connecting with you each day. I’m thoughtfully working through an unexpected work-related matter. Grateful for time away with loved ones. I hope to see you soon.”
Asher grew up in Fenton and is an alum of Flint’s Powers Catholic High School and Michigan State University, the place she majored in journalism. Prior to becoming a member of Fox 2 Detroit in 2007, she labored at WLNS, the CBS affiliate in Lansing and WJRT, Flint’s ABC station.
She has gained 10 native Emmys for her work.
Along with doing quite a few appearances for native charities, Asher had a cameo as a TV anchor on a newscast in 2023’s “Justified: City Primeval,” the FX restricted collection set in Detroit and starring Timothy Olyphant as lawman Raylan Givens.
Contact Detroit Free Press popular culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
