Ellina Abovian opens up about KTLA layoff in solo podcast

The beloved KTLA reporter who was fired on the eve of her birthday spoke out on her podcast about the day she was let go from the network.

Ellina Abovian, who was a general assignment reporter and worked with the station for at least a decade, said she was “totally blinded” by her dismissal.

“I’m sitting there and I’m just cocooned in myself because I’m waiting to hear what they’re going to say,” she said on her solo podcast episode titled, “My KTLA Layoff.” “As the words are coming out, I’m in shock, I’m in disbelief. I’m just like, no, this can’t be it.”

The single mom, who has been divorced since 2024, revealed the only thing she told her boss before he booted her from the network.

“I really just said one thing in that meeting,” she added. “I looked to my superiors and I said, out of everyone here, you choose a single mom with two kids. And I’m not discrediting anyone else’s struggle in life.”

The 40-year-old TV reporter said the day started like any other Monday when she was on assignment at LAX, but she soon noticed that instead of her usual photographer on site, it was the one she had worked with for 13 years.

“He and I worked together in San Diego. And it’s as if the universe was saying, this is your full-circle moment. Someone you started out with in San Diego is now going to be the person you live your last day at KTLA with,” she said.

Abovian was among several prominent on-air figures let go this week from KTLA, which is owned by Nexstar Media Group.

Veteran anchors Glen Walker and Lu Parker, longtime meteorologist Mark Kriski, and weathercaster Kacey Montoya were also shown the door.

Adding to the sting, the anchors were not given the opportunity to bid farewell to viewers, according to a report by the California Post.

Abovian said she got a call from her boss asking her to meet, and she was let go the day before her birthday without warning.

“I got this feeling that I have never experienced before on the job,” she said. “This can’t be it. I’ve been in this business 16 years. This cannot be the moment I say goodbye.”

The mom of two said this was triggering for her and reminded her of her past and added to her insecurities.

“It triggers your deepest insecurities. And for me, I grew up with that scarcity mindset. I grew up in a family where everything was one paycheck away from disappearing,” she said. “When something like that happens to you and you’re the adult, you’re the parent… it all comes in front of you. And you think, am I now going to do that to my kids? Of course, that’s not reality and I’m going to be fine.”

The podcast, she said, was her way to make peace with it and move on. She also noted she was “open to possibilities” in terms of her future.

“I know that no matter what I do, it’s going to be a public-facing job, because that’s what I’ve always done, and I feel comfortable in that space,” she said. “I know that this podcast is only going to get stronger, bigger, and better, because I will be pouring even more of myself into it.”

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters