Former ABC News weatherman Rob Marciano had a turbulent time at the network, marked by a bitter feud with fellow meteorologist Ginger Zee, which was kept tightly under wraps for years, according to sources familiar with the situation. Marciano, 55, was fired on Tuesday, two years after he was removed from on-air duties for "anger issues."
Marciano joined "GMA" in 2014 to assume Zee's weekend role after she was promoted to the daily set, replacing chief meteorologist Sam Champion. Marciano and Zee had a tumultuous relationship that lasted for years, an anonymous media executive told the New York Post. However, the stories of the bitter clashes were kept a secret.
Clashing With His Colleague
From the beginning, Zee and Marciano's professional relationship resembled the turbulence of a Category 5 hurricane and remained contentious for years, according to sources familiar with the situation speaking to The New York Post on Wednesday.
While Marciano's "hot temper" created problems on set, according to the source, Zee was also noted for being capable of being "nasty."
"I think she brought out the worst in him. I'm not giving him a pass," the source said. "It's sad because they are two people who are really into the science of the weather, unfortunately their personalities didn't work."
The 55-year-old Marciano, who joined ABC from "Entertainment Tonight" after serving as CNN's meteorologist for 10 years, and the 43-year-old Zee often clashed, as reported by multiple sources.
Zee, who had been with Good Morning America since 2011, reportedly "pulled rank" over assignments, according to reports.
"She treated him as a beta and she was the alpha," the media executive said.
"But they were much more peers in terms of experience, more than Ginger was with Sam."
Marciano's arrival coincided with the network's launch of a 24/7 weather unit intended to offer continuous coverage for ABC News programs like "GMA" and "World News Tonight."
However, Marciano and Zee did not collaborate, with Zee reportedly asserting her authority over assignments from the outset, according to an insider.
"Ginger is a know-it-all. If you say something she disagrees with, she references her Twitter followers, saying 'you are wrong, my followers on Twitter loved it,'" the media executive said.
During meetings, when Marciano disagreed with a management decision, his "body language and tone would change," according to sources familiar with the situation. "If he was unhappy about something, you'd know it," the exec said.
"He lost his cool in meetings when he got news he didn't like."
Losing His Cool Over Ranks and Decision
A source close to Zee claimed that Marciano had "behavioral" issues and contested the notion that she was difficult to work with. "Ginger is a collaborative, inclusive and hard-working leader who is well respected by her colleagues and has never had a complaint about her working style," the source told the outlet.
The source also pointed out that the two had different schedules with minimal overlap. While the exact reason for Marciano's departure remains unclear, sources speculated that his contract was not renewed following a series of complaints about his behavior that surfaced last year.
In March 2023, Marciano, a Cornell University graduate, was reportedly temporarily "banned" from the Times Square studios of "GMA" after allegedly making a colleague feel uncomfortable, Page Six reported.
"He was found to have done something ... that was improper, but he was punished for it, and they still haven't let him return," one insider told Page Six at the time.
More recently, Marciano was reassigned to "World News Tonight" and provided occasional field reports for "GMA," but was restricted from entering the studio, according to a second source.
Speculation arose regarding Marciano's departure, with one source suggesting that his salary, reported to be slightly under $1 million when he left "Entertainment Tonight," may have been deemed excessive for his reduced workload.
This source proposed that Debra O'Connell, the newly-appointed president of ABC's news group, might have scrutinized the budget and found his salary disproportionate to his responsibilities.
The exact nature of the incident involving Marciano and his colleague last year remains unclear, but another source suggested that he had allegedly been struggling with "anger management issues" amid his divorce proceedings.
Despite Marciano's divorce and conflicts with Zee, a source who has worked with him claimed that his behavior was not necessarily tied to these personal or professional challenges.
