'Fox & Friends' takes heat for 'tone-deaf' Ray Rice joke

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The anchors of Fox & Friends are facing backlash after making a "tone-deaf" joke about the Ray Rice scandal.

Steve Doocy, Anna Kooiman and Brian Kilmeade were discussing the state of Rice's marriage after video surfaced of the football player beating his wife unconscious in an elevator. The hosts likened the situation to the domestic abuse between Rihanna and Chris Brown and the elevator video that emerged of an altercation between Jay Z and Solange. The two male co-hosts went on to say that avoiding cameras in elevators is what people should take away from the incident.

"I think the message is, take the stairs," said Kilmeade.

Kooiman laughed, and rather than reiterating the seriousness of domestic violence, Doocy added to his co-host's comment.

"I think the message is, take the stairs," he said. "And there's a camera right now on Heath Nauert, who's got the headlines."