Shepard Smith just announced on air that he asked to be released from his contract and Fox News obliged:

JUST IN: On air, Shepard Smith says he has asked to be released from his Fox News contract, a request Fox has granted. "Even in our polarized nation, it's my hope that the facts will win the day…" he says in an on-air farewell. — Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) October 11, 2019

.@ShepNewsTeam Shepard Smith just dropped a bomb. After 23 years at @FoxNews , he announced he is leaving the network. He was part of the glue that held Fox together. He is a supreme pro who made us all better. — John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) October 11, 2019

This move is effective immediately:

Full video: Shepard Smith's final sign off from Fox News pic.twitter.com/5fgyM81Gbj — Jon Passantino (@passantino) October 11, 2019

Everyone should have seen this coming:

Announcement from Fox News: Shepard Smith is stepping down from his role as chief news anchor. This afternoon's show was his last. Fissures between news and opinion at Fox News are for real. — ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) October 11, 2019

Did it take everyone by surprise?

Wow. Sounds like @foxnews colleagues had no idea @ShepNewsTeam was going to do what he just did . Wow — Dave Ross (@drosssports) October 11, 2019

Tom Arnold isn’t happy about it one bit, however: