WKYC anchor Hollie Strano, who fell from grace last November after she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, announced today on social media that she has been fired. It was her stated opinion that she was let go for being too transparent about her road to recovery.
Strano’s announcement comes nine months after she signaled to worried and/or critical Clevelanders that she would be seeking treatment for alcoholism.
“I am sad to share that after 22 plus years of dedicated work, WKYC and Tegna decided to terminate my employment after I shared my recovery journey publicly,” Strano posted on Instagram on Monday.
“I believe the actions of WKYC and Tegna demonstrate the stigma surrounding addiction,” she added, “that so many in our community experience every day.”
On Thanksgiving Day last year, Strano flipped and crashed her SUV on Peninsula Road, driving about 70 mph in a 35 mph zone. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the crash. Cuyahoga Falls Police clocked Strano with a 0.244 BAC—nearly three times the legal limit.
Strano pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Court to a single OVI charge. Her license was taken away for a year, and Strano had to attend a week-long intervention program. She was also direly scrutinized in the court of public opinion.
Days after WKYC suspended Strano, she checked herself into a rehab program, and framed the choice to do so as a signal of divine intervention. Three months later, Strano returned on air.
“As tragic as it was, and as cliché as it may sound,” she wrote on Instagram in November, “I believe that [the crash] had to happen to me to put me on the healing journey of sobriety and introspection.”
In the months following, Strano kept up her public-facing positivity through regular postings on social media, with several photos apparently taken by case workers themselves.
“I never knew something so hard would lead to so much joy,” a post from April read. “To all of you fighting your own fight, please know happiness is on the other side.”
As of Monday afternoon, neither WKYC or Tegna commented on or confirmed Strano’s account.
