Geraldo Rivera is leaving Fox News talk show The Five due to behind-the-scenes conflict, the 79-year-old journalist has revealed.

Rivera told the Associated Press that “a growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences” contributed to his departure from the program, which sees him occupy a liberal-view seat on a panel that also includes perspectives from regular panelists Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Dana Perino, and Jeanine Pirro, with Jessica Tarlov often rotating with Rivera in the liberal seat.

‘The Five’ on Fox News.Fox News

“It has been a rocky ride but it has also been an exhilarating adventure that spanned quite a few years,” he told the outlet. “I hope it’s not my last adventure.”

Rivera added that it was his personal decision to exit, but indicated that management “didn’t race after me to say, ‘Geraldo, please come back.’”

A representative for Fox did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

“Morning, it’s official, I’m off [The Five],” Rivera added in a tweet on Wednesday. “My last scheduled show appearances are Thursday and Friday June 29th and 30th. It’s been a great run and I appreciate having had the opportunity. Being odd man out isn’t always easy. For the time being, I’m still Correspondent at Large.”

The Five‘s rival talk show, ABC’s The View, discussed the ordeal on Thursday’s live broadcast, with moderator Whoopi Goldberg shading Pirro, whom she famously clashed with during a heated 2018 interview.

Geraldo Rivera.Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

“[Geraldo] has to sit there with Jeanine and the rest of them, it’s hard to sit there with these people who are spewing lies every day. They always say that they quit. I don’t know anything about that. I said I quit [The View] years ago, when they fired me,” cohost Joy Behar said. “No one’s giving up these lucrative jobs so easily. You have to be fired. So, take it from me.”