Fox News announced that Tucker Carlson, the highest-rated cable television host credited with setting the agenda for US conservatives, has quit the network.
Fox News stated in a statement that it and Carlson had agreed to “sever ties.”
His final television appearance occurred on April 21, per the statement. Until a permanent replacement is located, his primetime slot will be filled by a succession of interim hosts.
The brief two-paragraph explanation provided no justification for the precipitous decision.
On-air, a Fox News anchor declared Carlson’s departure and thanked him “for his service to the network” in a tribute.
The 53-year-old presenter was not only popular, but also historically significant. His programmes frequently influence conservatives and, by extension, the Republican Party.
His programme featured a blend of populist conservative perspectives on a variety of issues, including immigration, crime, racism, gender, and sexuality, with “woke” ideology becoming a frequent target.
It comprised four of the top ten most-watched cable television programmes in the United States during the week of March 27 to April 2, according to Nielsen ratings data.
On an average night, more than three million viewers tuned in to watch him on Fox News.
While the host often publicly concurred with Donald Trump, whose politics have transformed the Republican party in recent years, he occasionally held different political views than the former president.
Fox News’ rivals capitalised swiftly on Carlson’s departure.
Newsmax, a competitor network, stated that it had effectively lured viewers away from Fox News in recent months, and Carlson’s departure “will only exacerbate this trend.”
The announcement of Carlson’s departure comes just days after Fox News settled a defamation complaint filed by voting machine manufacturer Dominion regarding its 2020 presidential election coverage.
Dominion argued in the lawsuit that Fox’s false claims that its devices were rigged against Mr. Trump harmed its business.
The case led to the disclosure of text messages revealing that Carlson’s private views frequently diverged from his on-air commentary.
Dominion’s attorneys repeatedly cited his programme, which aired in the coveted 20:00 to 21:00 EST time slot, in court documents to support their claim that some of its content was defamatory.
In March, former guest booker Abby Grossberg filed a lawsuit against Fox News in which she accused Carlson of “vile sexist stereotypes.” Fox News has filed a countersuit and stated that it will “vigorously defend these claims.”
The most recent interview between Carlson and Mr. Trump occurred two weeks ago, despite revelations in the Dominion case indicating that Carlson had privately stated of the ex-president, “I hate him passionately.”
He also conducted an interview with Twitter CEO Elon Musk during his final week at Fox News.
“Return on Monday”
It appears that he left abruptly and without the customary farewell one might expect from a long-serving presenter.
A video posted to Twitter by journalist Aaron Rupar showed Carlson concluding his Friday show with the words “we’ll be back on Monday.”
In 2009, Carlson joined Fox as a contributor. From 2012 to 2016, he co-hosted the Fox and Friends Weekend programme. In 2017, he began hosting the Tucker Carlson programme.
Carlson previously hosted programmes on CNN and MSNBC before co-founding the Daily Caller website with former Republican political consultant Neil Patel.
In 2005, following a heated on-air exchange with Daily Show anchor Jon Stewart, he was fired from CNN.
Fox Corporation, the corporation controlled by Rupert Murdoch that owns Fox News, saw its share price fall by more than 3 percent in New York following the announcement.
Comparable to the initial reaction when the company announced it would pay $787 million (£631 million) to settle the defamation suit brought by Dominion, although shares rapidly recovered in that instance.
Fox News’ impending negotiations with cable networks over lucrative carriage fees – fees paid to Fox by cable firms for carrying its network – could be impacted by Carlson’s departure.
These fees are crucial to the company’s bottom line, and it enters negotiations with an open time slot in its most prominent time slot.
CNN’s Don Lemon announced on Monday that he had been “terminated” after 17 years, just hours after appearing on the network’s recently relaunched morning programme.
Earlier this year, the embattled host was subjected to intense public criticism for comments made about Nikki Haley, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
