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Who is Juan Williams? Fox News analyst who called Uber Eats carjacking a 'joy ride' was fired for anti-Muslim comments

Williams also faced verbal sexual harassment allegations from female employees of The Washington Post

Fox News political analyst Juan Williams is being lambasted on Twitter for his controversial comments about the tragic murder of Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar by two teenage girls. Williams, who co-hosts the Fox News show 'The Five', said, "I don’t think they intended to kill anybody. They were looking to have a joy ride. It just went way wrong, way out of control, and ended up in a gross tragedy." His usage of the term 'joy ride' led to a storm of controversy on social media as users slammed him for 'sticking up for those murderers'. 

Co-host Jesse Watters interrupted Williams stating that the assailants brought a stun gun which is not usually brought for a 'joy ride', upon which he continued about the recent increase in carjacking and similar crimes. "Juan Williams does not deserve respect and certainly not any consideration. He is a racist from the top of his head to the soles of his shoes!! Why does FOX allow him on the air? Just like Donna Donna Brazil he has no honest or valuable input!", a user tweeted about him.

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Who is Juan Williams?

A Panamanian-American journalist, Juan Williams had been contributing with Fox News since 1997. Alongside, he also writes for leading newspapers and publications like The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Time. A registered Democrat, Williams is also well-recognized for his series of books on the Civil Rights movement. He is the recipient of an Emmy Award for his television documentary work. 

Born on April 10, 1954, in Panama, Williams' mother emigrated to the US in a banana boat with him and his two siblings when he was just four years of age. After settling in Brooklyn, New York, Williams attended the Oakwood Friends School and later pursued a Bachelor's degree in philosophy from Haverford College. 

Writing for The Washington Post for 23 years was one of the most notable phases of Williams' career. However, he faced several verbal sexual harassment allegations by female employees of the publication in 1991, reported The Post. The charges surfaced after his column defended Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas against sworn testimony by Anita Hill on sexual harassment charge. He later issued an apology in the newspaper for his inappropriate and wrong verbal conduct. 

In 2000, Williams joined NPR as the host of the daily afternoon talk show 'Talk of the Nation' and went on to become a senior national correspondent for the media house. He was fired from NPR in 2010 over his offensive comments about the Muslim community on 'The O'Reilly Factor'. He infamously remarked on the show, "I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the Civil Rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous." Following the incident, his contract with NPR was severed, reported CBS News. 

"Get rid of Juan Williams"

As soon as his remarks about the Uber Eats driver murder case surfaced, Twitter users called out his behavior and some even demanded his termination, branding him as 'racist' and 'liar'. 

"Get rid of Juan Williams. He is a racist and a liar. Like all liberals," a user wrote. Another tweeted, "Juan Williams is such an ass. He pontificates obvious nothingness because he has no retort for Democrat BS policies or proposals."

"@FoxNews Please get rid of Juan Williams. Disgusting he defends the 2 girls that murdered the Uber driver!! Made me nauseous to listen to him! They should be IN JAIL forever. Not being forgiven by Juan for a “joy ride”!!!" another disgruntled user tweeted to Fox News. One user reminded, "People have forgotten that Juan Williams was fired from NPR for being a racist."

Juan Williams is yet to make any comments on the recent controversy around his remarks.