While Williams’ presence on The Five as the lone liberal pundit had always lent itself to fiery on-air debates and clashes, the tension seemed to ramp up in recent months, especially after the show went back to filming remotely after Williams’ December covid diagnosis. And generally, the tension was highest with co-host Greg Gutfeld. Besides having near-daily shoutfests with Williams during Five broadcasts, Gutfeld was also outspoken both behind the scenes and on the air about his desire that the program fully return to the studio. One network insider told The Daily Beast that Gutfeld had been pushing Albano for a while to get Williams removed from The Five, adding that Gutfeld was “really pissed they’re not all back in the studio together and he blames Juan for not being back.” Update: Fox responds: "A Fox News spokesperson denied that 'Gutfeld had anything to do with the move whatsoever' and referred to a statement from the showrunner Megan Albano who explained that Juan wanted to stay in D.C."