In 2014, Whatley wrote an opinion piece for The Interrobang criticizing the NFL and the St. “I can’t be a part of ‘It’s gets better’ until I make sure things are going to get better for me. Whatley told The Interrobang that he wanted to work openly on “too many important issues out there facing Gay Americans.

… I was terrified about being really gay.” … And most of all, I couldn’t make myself be Fez Whatley anymore. I became severely anxious and couldn’t perform any longer. I was now everything that I had joked about. … Fez Whatley was no longer a character I played on the air. “Coming to this realization was devastating. “I realized I was just like the character I had created. “After spending the last 20 years playing a gay character on-air,” Whatley came out as gay on February 24, 2012, on-air on his SiriusXM show, The Interrobang reported. Not just radio, but the most important thing ever in my life, the Ron and Fez Show,” according to the outlet. He told listeners, “I am retiring from radio. The final “Ron and Fez Show” aired on April 3, 2015, after Bennington announced his retirement on April 1, and Whatley announced at the time that he was also retiring from radio, The Interrobang reported at the time. In addition to heart problems, Whatley had suffered for years with anxiety and depression, according to The Interrobang. His sister snapped these pics of him while he was on the vent, and Fez is oddly proud of them.”

He later would become executive producer for the show, January of 2009 when he. He spent a few days on a ventilator and is now breathing on his own. On the first day Ron and Fez arrived in New York to go on air at WNEW in February 2000, Earl Douglas was there. “He flatlined on Tuesday, but was able to be revived by doctors. “Fez had another massive heart attack this week,” he wrote on Instagram in March 2021. Whatley Retired From Radio After Coming out as Gay in 2012 & Experiencing Depression & AnxietyĪ post shared by Bennington heart problems were no secret in fact, Bennington had given fans updates on his Instagram page, even sharing photos of Whatley in a hospital bed. I’ve ‘known’ Fez for decades on the radio. “Oh, no! The joy that man brought to so many of us. Thinking about this family and The Benningtons. The joy he brought to your lives brought joy to our lives. Ron please make sure you take care of yourself during this difficult time. I look back fondly to the days of WNEW when we all had the radio world by the balls. Opie Radio wrote, “Fez was a Rockstar and will be horribly missed. I’m so sorry for your loss, your family’s loss, Fez’s family loss and for all those who loved him. #fezwhatley.”įans offered tributes in the comment thread on Bennington’s Instagram post: Our thoughts are with his family who loved him the most and with the people who knew him as a voice on the radio. We are devastated, but we will always remember the laughter through our tears. “We lost our sweet Fez Whatley last night,” he wrote in the Instagram post. A post shared by Bennington revealed that heart issues took Whatley’s life.

B l ron and fez