A popular TV meteorologist was fired from a Florida television station and tens of thousands of people have rushed to social media to post their outrage at the situation. On Thursday, January 8, WINK-TV fired their Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt. Neither the station nor Devitt have elaborated on the cause for termination.

Devitt took to social media this weekend to write broadly about his separation from the station. “This decision was not one that I expected or agreed with and was not given the opportunity to say goodbye on-air. It was a complete shock to me, my family and fellow coworkers,” he wrote in posts on X and Facebook. “While this chapter ended differently than I hoped, I wish WINK News, along with my previous coworkers and weather team, the best,” he added.

Devitt also explained he will do a “reset” during this time of transition. “I’m taking a brief pause professionally to reset and be with my family. I’ve missed them and I’m looking forward to every minute. I’ll keep you all updated on what’s next.”

Devitt joined WINK-TV as a morning meteorologist almost 10 years ago in February 2016. He was promoted to Chief Meteorologist in March of 2021, a role he has kept since. Prior to WINK, Devitt worked for WSAV-TV as a meteorologist for the Savannah, Georgia station there. Before WSAV-TV, Devitt spent a year at KHBS/KHOG-TV in Rogers, Arkansas as a meteorologist there too.

Since posting about his departure, tens of thousands of people have posted on social media, with most expressing dismay over it. On X, 962 people replied to Devitt’s departure post, including many meteorologists from other markets. The noise on Facebook has been much louder though; more than 27,000 people left comments, mostly negative, and marked the post with 74,000 reactions supportive of Devitt and not of WINK. Many have written about their anger with the television station and the way his termination was handled.