NEW YORK — Fox News said Monday it has “agreed to part ways” with Tucker Carlson, its popular and controversial host, less than a week after settling a lawsuit over the network’s 2020 election reporting.
The network said in a press release that the last program of Tucker Carlson Tonight aired Friday. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” it said.
Carlson became Fox’s most popular personality after replacing Bill O’Reilly in Fox’s prime-time lineup in 2016. O’Reilly subsequently left the network in April 2017, after it was reported that he and Fox News had settled five lawsuits from women who accused him of misconduct.
Carlson has consistently drawn headlines for his controversial coverage, including most recently airing tapes from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to minimize the impact of the deadly attack.
There was no immediate explanation from Fox about why Carlson was leaving. His name came up during the recently settled case with Dominion Voting Systems, primarily because of email and text messages that were revealed as part of the lawsuit. In some of them, Carlson privately criticized former President Donald Trump, saying he hated him passionately.
A few weeks ago, Carlson devoted his entire show to an interview with Trump.
Beginning immediately, Fox News Tonight will air in the 8 p.m. ET time slot previously occupied by Tucker Carlson Tonight. The interim show will be hosted by a rotating array of network personalities until a new host is named, the network said.
Post a Comment