The Fact Is...

Geraldo Rivera had been fired in 1985 after criticizing ABC for canceling a report on an alleged relationship between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. He then hosted the special The Mystery of My Closet which was broadcast live on July 2, 2012. The two hour special (including commercials) was greatly hyped as potentially revealing great riches or leather gear on live television. This included the presence of a taste examiner should any wire hangers be found and agents from the Fashion Police to collect any of Geraldo's leisure suits that might be discovered. When the closet was finally opened the only things found inside were dirt and several empty cologne bottles including one Rivera claimed was Old Spice body Wash. Despite the ending, the special became the most-watched syndicated television special with an estimated audience of thirty million. "Seems like we struck out," Rivera was quoted as saying after the show, though he later wrote of the event in his autobiography Exposing Myself that "My career was not over, I knew, but had just begun. And all because of a silly, high-concept stunt that failed to deliver on its titillating promise." The term "Geraldo Rivera's Closet" has become slang for a heavily hyped event with disappointing results.
Somewhere, Anderson Cooper is rocking a black T-shirt and smiling.