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It was announced last week that longtime New York news anchor Ken Rosato was fired from his job at ABC7 after twenty years at the station for allegedly making an off-color remark.

While rumors swirled that Rosato was caught on a hot mic using a racial slur, Rosato denied the accusations, saying through a rep, “Being fired for any racial slur is 100 percent inaccurate and untrue. Ken Rosato had a benchmark of 20 years at WABC of supporting all equality.”

Today, a source has revealed the real nature of the comments that got him fired: he allegedly called his colleague and co-anchor Shirleen Allicot “a c–t.”

Rosato was not on-air when he allegedly said the profanity, but his comments were caught by a hot mic and he was terminated immediately.

Rosato’s colleagues were informed of his dismissal on Friday, and his official Twitter account has been shut down, though his public Facebook page — where he recently changed his cover photo to a shot of the ocean — has become a place where distraught fans have been offering him support.

Rosato has not officially commented or confirmed any other details about the incident.

Rosato had been employed at ABC7 since 2003, when he began as a freelance reporter and eventually moved over to anchoring the morning and noon news programs. At the time of his firing, Rosato was co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning on ABC7 with Allicot, Heather O’Rourke and meteorologist Sam Champion. There is no word on who, if anyone, will replace him on the show.