Anchor Fights Back After Suspension For Charlie Kirk Tribute

The Dr. Phil Podcast

Dr. Phil McGraw

Education, Society & Culture

4.3 • 13.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Beni Rae Harmony was a trusted WICS NewsChannel 20 anchor in Springfield, Illinois, until one broadcast changed everything. Days after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed at an Utah Valley University event, Harmony closed a newscast with an emotional tribute she called “non-partisan,” rooted in personal loss, not politics.

Station leadership suspended her for violating editorial policy, and Harmony says she was pressured to walk it back. Instead, she resigned publicly in a viral post, arguing she was being punished not for mocking a tragedy, but for honoring it, and framing her exit as a choice between career security and personal conviction.

In this conversation, Dr. Phil presses into the psychological and professional collision at the center of the story: when does “being human” on-air become “taking a side”? What happens to identity when your newsroom’s definition of neutrality conflicts with your lived relationships? And what does it cost emotionally, spiritually, and professionally, to bet everything on your voice? Harmony now reports from Washington, D.C., for Real America’s Voice.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Today we're talking about a story that sparked a heated conversation about journalism and free speech.
0:13.0	And I'm really glad you're here for this because this matters.
0:19.0	Biddy Ray Harmony was a trusted anchor on WICS News Channel 20 in Springfield, Illinois.
0:28.1	Now, this September, after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk,
0:35.3	Benny ended a broadcast with what she described as a nonpartisan tribute
0:42.2	to a personal friend. Now, she says it wasn't political, it was human. But within hours,
0:50.9	her station suspended her for violating editorial policy. In a now viral post, Harmony
0:59.1	resigned, claiming her former employer was trying to silence her voice and accusing management
1:05.4	of caving to political pressure. Her resignation quickly gained national attention. Biddy Ray
1:14.5	Harmony joins us now. Biddy, look, I really appreciate you being here. You've said that this
1:22.1	experience, it broke your heart, but not your spirit, and it also opened your eyes.
1:29.5	So walk me through that day.
1:32.5	And first off, I want everybody to know, you knew Charlie really well.
1:37.3	In fact, you had worked with him, correct?
1:39.3	Yes, I had.
1:41.3	And thank you so much for having me on today.
1:43.3	You bet. How did you come to know Charlie and what was your relationship with him?
1:49.2	How did he impact your life?
1:51.2	Yeah, well, I'll first kind of tell you a little bit about what happened in September.
1:56.3	And so on that awful day that we all watched on live television of Charlie being assassinated, I was back in my hometown. WICS News Channel 20 is my local news station. And they really gave me that foot in the door for broadcasting. And it wasn't my intention to go on black television and talk about that.
2:18.3	I knew that journalistic standards, you know, we are supposed to stay unbiased.
2:22.3	But there's a level that when it's not political, but I'm speaking on a level of humanity,
	...

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