Much of the world was appalled when a graphic video leaked Monday showing former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching and knocking out his then-fiancée Janay Palmer in a elevator. But the co-hosts of “Fox & Friends” saw it as an opportunity to crack a few jokes about domestic violence.
“The message is take the stairs,” Fox News co-host Brian Kilmeade said with a chuckle.
Also read: NFL Star Ray Rice Terminated by Baltimore Ravens After Domestic Violence Video Leaks
Kilmeade and co-host Steve Doocy first chastised Palmer for marrying Rice after the incident, and even drew parallels between R&B singer
“A lot of people thought [her return to him] sent a terrible message,” Kilmeade said.
“The message is, when you’re in an elevator, there’s a camera,” said Doocy, after Kilmeade’s “take the stairs” comment. Doocy’s joke also referenced the well-publicized elevator altercation between Jay Z and Beyonce’s sister Solange after the Met Gala in May.
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As TheWrap previously reported, the Ravens terminated Rice’s contract Monday afternoon shortly after footage surfaced of the star NFL star punching his then-fiancee in an elevator. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell indefinitely suspended Rice, based on “the new video evidence.”
The league claimed that prior to Monday, it had not seen the new security footage.
Rice, who helped his team win Super Bowl XLVII, was handed a two-game suspension by the NFL in July for the domestic violence incident, which left his now-wife unconscious on the floor of an Atlantic City casino.
The three-time Pro Bowl player has since publicly apologized, as has his wife Janay, for what she called her “role in the incident.”