Order to Get Rid of Tucker Carlson Came Directly from Highest Level at Fox News: Report
Longtime Fox News host Tucker Carlson was fired by the network because of a directive issued directly by Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Fox News stunned the political world Monday morning with a short statement that simply said Carlson and the network were parting ways.
“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the statement said. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”
Carlson joined Fox News as a contributor in 2009 and launched cable’s most-watched show in November 2016.
Fox News claimed on-air the separation was mutual, but that was later disputed. Sources told Mediate that Carlson was fired.
He offered no indication on Friday’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that it would be his last show.
But the show and its host are both done at Fox News, as is Carlson’s senior executive producer, Justin Wells.
Stephen Battaglio of the Times reported Monday afternoon that Carlson was “forced out” and said it had nothing to do with the company’s decision to settle a civil lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems.
Dominion sued Fox News over its reporting on the 2020 election in a case that some have warned could chill free speech or force news organizations to shift their reporting.
However, Battaglio reported the $787.5 million settlement had nothing to do with Carlson’s separation from Fox News.
Rather, he reported, the firing was over a lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg.
Grossberg has accused Carlson and the network of discriminating against her.
“People familiar with the situation who were not authorized to comment publicly said the decision to fire Carlson came straight from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch,” Battaglio reported.
According to the report, Murdoch was upset over the Grossberg lawsuit, in which she claimed she was “bullied and subjected to antisemitic comments” while working on Carlson’s show.
The Fox founder also wasn’t happy with Carlson’s approach to reporting on the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion of the U.S. Capitol, Battaglio reported.
Specifically, he was displeased that the host questioned whether some federal law enforcement agents were complicit in the storming of the building, according to the Times.
The report said there was another possible factor: Carlson made disparaging comments about his company’s management in messages that were found during the discovery phase of Dominion’s lawsuit.
The decision to “part ways” with its star anchor resulted in a swift backlash against Fox News.
Fox Corp. also saw its share prices tumble after the news of Carlson’s separation broke Monday morning.
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