KROQ fired its entire morning show team on Tuesday, March 17, 2020
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Kevin Ryder tweeted that management called “every one of us on the morning show and told us we were fired,” and Ryder had been with the station for over 30 years
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The show consisted of hosts Gene ‘Bean’ Baxter and Kevin Ryder, on-air personalities Allie Sharp and Jensen Karp, producer David Sanchez (aka ‘The King of Mexico’), main board operator Ruben, Jonathan Kantrowe (aka ‘Beer Mug’), board operator Destiny Lopez and DJ Omar Khan
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Gene ‘Bean’ Baxter had recently left the show to move back to his native home of London, England
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After that, the show was renamed Kevin in the Morning with Allie and Jensen
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The crew was informed via phone calls on Tuesday and the news became public Wednesday.
“Hey party people! Not sure how to say this, so here it is: Yesterday, @kroq called every one of us on the morning show and told us we were fired. Me. @alliemackay, @JensenKarp, @kroqkom, @kroqbeermug, @Old_Man_Ruben and @destinymlopez,”
Ryder tweeted.
Ryder immediately addressed the station’s reasoning on social media.
“Why did @kroq fire all of us on the morning show? I assume it’s the ratings, which were down. The economy because it’s down. But it’s a pretty crappy way to treat people,”
he wrote.
The host also described his departure from the building.
“One last thing. There are 3 guys here to throw me out of the building. (I couldn’t make this up) Not necessary. Leaving,”
Ryder posted.
Even though the crew was officially let go on Tuesday, they had the rare opportunity of going on air on Wednesday to say goodbye to their audience
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“Along the way, the one criticism I’ve had about the station from day one is that they’ve always treated me, along with everybody else here, like we’re lucky to have jobs. The management of the station uses that, at times, to be incredibly cruel to people,”
Ryder said on his final broadcast.
Celebrity allies rushed to defend the fired crew online.
“Shame on you KROQ ‘management’ for caring so little about the people who gave you so much. Especially now,”
tweeted Jimmy Kimmel, a former “Kevin & Bean Show” alumni.
Bean Baxter, Ryder’s former co-host in London, criticized how the firing was handled.
“The way @KROQ did it was indefensible. If you wanna fire the show, wait out the virus, then have them back for a farewell series of shows or events. The listeners deserved that,”
Baxter wrote.
Ralph Garman, a former on-air personality, tweeted: “Sending my love to all these good people. For almost two decades, I was in the trenches with most of these folks and they were all talented, hard-working and kind. I am so sorry to hear it all end like this. I stand with them today,”
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The firing marked another painful chapter in the station’s recent history.
In early 2015, KROQ management fired longtime Kevin & Bean personalities Lisa May and Doc on the Roq (aka Boyd Britton) from the show. May had reported on traffic for years and also become essentially a co-host to Ryder and Baxter, while Britton reported on the day’s news. KROQ brass were widely criticized for their handling of the news on-air — failing to give either a chance to say goodbye to fans
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Garman had been part of the KROQ morning show since 1999 and his exit was being framed as a budget cut
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In the viral moment that shook Los Angeles radio,
Ryder said he’d gotten an uneasy feeling after KROQ management had canceled the morning show’s annual comedy showcase and fundraiser, April Foolishness
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“Strangely, I made peace with [losing my job]. It was a really crappy way to handle things, but what about the people who were working hour to hour and there was no reason to fire them? It made no sense to me. I made a decent amount of money and had a good living, but those people are literally out on their asses for no reason, and I don’t get that,”
Ryder said on Adam Carolla’s podcast.
Kevin Ryder, the former co-host of the long-running morning show “The Kevin and Bean Show” on KROQ, later joined the team of rival rock radio station KLOS 95.5, where he joined another LA broadcasting legend Doug “Sluggo” Roberts for the station’s afternoon block. The “Kevin & Sluggo” show will air live each weekday from 3-7 p.m. and will debut on Thursday, February 18
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Meanwhile, other voices at KROQ would follow the trend of departures in coming years.
Longtime KROQ veteran Nicole Alvarez abruptly left the iconic Los Angeles radio station at the end of July 2025, giving a brief goodbye during her final moments on air on July 30. It was a sudden change, and a notable shift after she’d spent the past two decades as a steady presence at the station through successes and the more recent tumult of the past few years. Now Alvarez is breaking her silence, penning an emotional letter in The Holllywood Reporter about why she left, her hopes for the future of radio, and what’s on the horizon
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“Leaving KROQ is the hardest thing I have ever done. But staying would have been a slow death,”
Alvarez wrote.
“After being disrespected by an executive known to do those types of things, I was done. So I lit my life on fire for something that matters more than anything, my integrity,”
she added.
“I was just shy of my 23-year anniversary at KROQ, and that alone is a badge of honor. I outlasted trends, format disorientation, bosses, budget cuts, and even my own rebellious nature,”
Alvarez said in her letter.
After being disrespected by an executive known to do those types of things, Alvarez left the station
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