In early May 2024, a rumor circulated on Facebook, claiming that Steve Harvey had been abruptly fired from his long-standing role as the host of “Family Feud.” The ad, which appeared as a paid promotion, suggested that Harvey was leaving the game show after nearly 14 years due to an on-air slip-up during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. The ad read, “Steve Harvey Abruptly Booted Off ‘Family Feud,'” and added, “Tensions Erupt After His On-Air Slip Up.”
However, this rumor was entirely false. Steve Harvey was not “booted off ‘Family Feud,'” nor had Oprah Winfrey interviewed him recently. The ad was part of a scam falsely claiming that Harvey had endorsed a product named Canna Labs CBD Gummies, which he never did. Further investigation into Canna Labs CBD Gummies revealed mostly scammy pages and videos in Google search results.
The ad led users to a fake CNN article hosted on a site called pastadibern.pro, with the headline, “Steve Harvey Fired from ‘Family Feud’ After Shocking On-Air Confession to Oprah Winfrey.” This fake article included fabricated quotes and a fake post supposedly from Harvey’s account on X (formerly known as Twitter). The fake post never appeared on Harvey’s actual X account.
The false article began with a fabricated statement from ABC Entertainment chief Channing Dungey, claiming that Harvey’s “tone-deaf comedy” had nothing to do with his removal from “Family Feud.” It also included a fake tweet from Harvey, stating, “Stunned and blindsided by the show I called home for the last 14 years.”
The article went on to falsely claim that Harvey, 67, was being let go due to comments made during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. According to the fake story, Harvey had gone off script during the interview and revealed intimate details about his struggle with erectile dysfunction (ED) and his supposed cure, Canna Labs CBD Gummies. The article included a fabricated quote from Oprah, stating, “I just think there’s a time and place for those types of discussions but my show isn’t one of them.”
The fake article also featured false quotes from Harvey, defending his comments and questioning the negative stigma around ED. He was quoted as saying, “Why the negative stigma?! ED is a problem most men experience as they get older. Why hide the fact there ARE real solutions? I suffered for far too long to keep the answer a secret now that I found a solution, Canna Labs CBD Gummies.”
The rest of the false article included fake quotes and photos of Harvey’s wife, Marjorie, as well as Dr. Phil McGraw of the former talk show “Dr. Phil.”
This rumor was not the first time Steve Harvey had been falsely linked to CBD products. Snopes had previously reported on similar scams involving Harvey and CBD products in 2022. Other celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and former “Jeopardy” host Mayim Bialik, had also been targeted by similar scams.
In summary, the claim that Steve Harvey was abruptly fired from “Family Feud” following an on-air slip-up during an interview with Oprah Winfrey was entirely false. The rumor was part of a scam falsely linking Harvey to a CBD product he never endorsed. Steve Harvey continues to be a beloved host of “Family Feud,” and there is no truth to the claims made in the fake article.
Source: Snopes
