The Fox Corp. on Monday announced it was parting ways with Tucker Carlson, host of one of the highest rated non-sports programs in cable television history.
According to Fox News, Carlson's last episode was on Friday in a week that featured his exclusive interviews with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Elon Musk, both of whom have challenged regime media messaging and censorship.
"FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor," a network spokesperson told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Former Fox employee Kari Lake congratulated Carlson who is now, she said, '"free and uncensored."
Conservative rival Newsmax responded by citing Carlson's departure as part of a pattern with Fox moving away from truth-telling in its bid become more establishment. That was reinforced in recent days when Dan Bongino announced he would no longer be producing his television or radio shows for Fox News or Fox Nation.
“For a while Fox News has been moving to become establishment media and Tucker Carlson’s removal is a big milestone in that effort,” Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy said. “Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax and Tucker’s departure will only fuel that trend.”
Carlson's exit also comes days after Fox News settled a defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems. According to Dominion attorney Justin Nelson, the settlement amounted to more than $787 million.
While official channels say it's unclear if the hefty sum owed to Dominion is connected to the high-profile departures at Fox News, some on social media have a different view.
Thank you, Dominion. https://t.co/DXdBkB7EDq
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 24, 2023
Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had appeared of Carlson's program, said that Carlson likely paid the price of going against "Big Pharma" and telling the truth about the so-called Covid vaccines.
Fox fires @TuckerCarlson five days after he crosses the red line by acknowledging that the TV networks pushed a deadly and ineffective vaccine to please their Pharma advertisers. Carlson’s breathtakingly courageous April 19 monologue broke TV’s two biggest rules: Tucker told the…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 24, 2023
Some said Carlson's exit marks a "disaster" for Fox News, but add that it was expected given that Rupert Murdoch's sons and Paul Ryan are now essentially running the show at the network.
Wow. Disastrous moment for Fox News. Tucker was by far the most important and relevant figure at the network, and in all of cable news. https://t.co/Do3cbHwGYh
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) April 24, 2023
After departing Fox herself, Kari Lake, the Arizona Republican candidate for governor who’s still waging a battle in court over the November election, called the action a good career move.
The best decision I ever made was leaving Fox. Good for you, @TuckerCarlson. You’re free & uncensored! pic.twitter.com/ZsUwnGAZ7M
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) April 24, 2023
Fox Corporation’s Class B stock tumbled on Monday morning in the moments immediately after the company reported it had parted ways with Carlson.
The stock opened up Monday morning trading at a high of $31.00 per share. At 11:50 a.m. ET, the stock had fallen to $29.30 — or about 5.4 percent.
Fox News stock drops nearly 5% within minutes of announcing Tucker Carlson’s departure pic.twitter.com/d5MQ60ET5D
— VRosen (@vrosen11) April 24, 2023
Until a new host is selected, Fox News said that Fox News Tonight will take the show's place in the interim. Beginning Monday evening, a rotating group of Fox News personalities will host the program.
Fox had only recently touted Carlson's success "as the highest-rated program in cable news in the younger 25-54 demo, averaging 3.2 million viewers, 443,000 in the demo and 299,000 in the 18-49 category" in the first quarter of 2023.
Here is Carlson's keynote address at the Heritage Foundation's 50th anniversary celebration:
Here is Carlson's last Fox News interview, from his Friday broadcast:
Membership . . . . Intelligence . . . . Publish
