Starting from way back in 2006, Charissa Thompson’s rise to fame has been nothing short of legendary. Starting from the Big Ten Network, Fox Sports Net, NFL on Fox, to ESPN, and ultimately back on FOX, this lady has seen the inner workings of the sports universe intricately. She happens to be the first woman to host a pregame show (FOX NFL Kickoff). She also hosts Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football. To top it all off, there’s her recent coverage of the Blue Origin space mission that took 6 women to outer space and back. Through all of this, Charissa has been making headlines of her own all along.

If all of this wasn’t enough, there’s also the Calm Down Podcast, which she hosts with her bestie Erin Andrews. On the podcast, they drop weekly content that ranges from real-life struggles to hilarious anecdotes, even bringing their husbands along for the ride. And just recently, Charissa has dropped one such story from her life that has the fans going, ‘Whaaaat?’

On the latest edition of the Calm Down Podcast titled ‘Alexa, Shut the F— Up’, Charissa Thompson opened up about one of her pet peeves. She even shared an Instagram post on the Calm Down page with the interesting take that goes, “I don’t like to celebrate my birthday –  admittedly, I don’t mind being the center of attention. If there’s a stage and there’s a microphone, I’m the first one up there. No problem. – but I hate a birthday. – I don’t like being the center of attention if it’s actually about me. If it’s a birthday, if it’s a wedding, if it’s that kind of stuff, like I, that’s where I get awkward.” Introverts, major relate, right?

While addressing this, she also joked, “where’s that psychiatrist?” Charissa also explains that being a sports journalist, she doesn’t have any issues being the centre of attention, “I don’t have a problem clearly with our profession standing in front of a room being, you know, under the spotlight,” and Erin Andrews agrees as well. Erin says she doesn’t have any problems being under the lights, but if “you asked me to open up a Christmas present in front of people and I’m like, ‘I’m Shy’.” Erin and Charissa, sharing this, being two of the most prominent names in the sports broadcasting industry, comes as quite a shock to everyone. But if there is anything else that has topped this, it’s all the speculations revolving around these two dynamic women’s careers with Fox. And now, we’ve finally heard from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

Charissa clarifies the Fox rumors once and for all!

Ever since her contract ended after the last Super Bowl, there have been major speculations about whether these two stars will be back with Fox Sports or not. Some have even gone on to say that their careers with Fox may have ended with their contracts. But in this same episode of Calm Down, Charissa has finally shed light and done away with all the rumors. She took to the podcast and said that because of these rumors, her family was actually worried about her. Rumors spread like wildfire, especially the bad ones. Naturally, Charissa had to explain everything to them.

In the podcast, she said, “No, I am not leaving Fox. I was never leaving Fox. I don’t know where this took on a life – I’m like ‘why is this headline out here?’ – I was never leaving Fox. I’m not fired – I hope I die at [Fox]. As I always talk about, Fox is my longest relationship. I have worked there since I was, what, 22 years old, starting in the HR department. So yes, I love Fox, I will hopefully end my career there in a long, long time. But anyways, it’s not ending anytime soon. That’s a fake headline.” And now, we can finally rest easy knowing Charissa Thompson isn’t going anywhere.

In the podcast, Charissa hasn’t mentioned if she has signed a new contract with Fox Sports. But one thing’s for certain, we will continue to see her on the Podcast, and hopefully soon, back on Fox Sports as well.