The implosion of yet another liberal media figure is playing out in California, where disgraced former KTVU anchor Frank Somerville managed to add a fourth arrest to his long list of humiliations. Once a polished face on local television, Somerville has now become a walking reminder of the hypocrisy and rot inside the media class that lectures everyday Americans while failing to get its own house in order.
The 67-year-old former anchor, already infamous for drunken rants, public meltdowns, and late-night benders, was arrested Monday after allegedly assaulting his daughter in a heated altercation over money. According to the Oakland Police Department, officers responded to a report of a domestic assault shortly before 5:45 p.m. While authorities have yet to release names, Somerville himself confirmed the incident in a lengthy Facebook post.
In his version, Somerville shifted the blame to his daughter, claiming she was a “full-blown weed addict” who came to his home “in withdrawal” demanding cash. He said he told her to leave, but a “physical fight” broke out as he attempted to “calm her down.” After his daughter fled, Somerville says he phoned his ex-wife, only to be asked to rush over because their daughter might pose a danger to her as well. But when he arrived, police were waiting—tipped off by his daughter, who allegedly reported the fight but told officers she didn’t want to press charges.
“I love my daughter more than anything in the world. I would never deliberately try to hurt her. But bad things happen in battle,” Somerville wrote online. He added that he has been sober for nine months and insisted he was not under the influence at the time of the alleged assault.
Still, this latest run-in with law enforcement is only the newest chapter in Somerville’s very public downward spiral. He was quickly released on bail, but his credibility—already in tatters—is unlikely to recover.
Somerville’s reputation first crumbled in 2021, when he admitted he was “trashed” behind the wheel during a taco run that ended in a collision. Around that same time, he embarrassed himself live on-air by slurring through a broadcast, later blaming it on “accidentally” taking Ambien. A divorce filing soon followed.
Then, in 2023, things truly fell apart. In a single night, Somerville managed to get arrested twice—first for assaulting his own brother, and then for being found intoxicated in his car only hours later.
For someone once trusted to deliver the news with authority, his career now reads like a cautionary tale. While the media elite often wag their fingers at Middle America about values and responsibility, their own stars too often end up on the front page for all the wrong reasons.
Frank Somerville’s latest arrest may just confirm what many Americans already suspect: the media establishment is more interested in pushing narratives than living up to the standards they demand of others.
