Tucker Carlson Booted from Fox News

In a shocking announcement on Monday, Fox News declared that their prime-time star, Tucker Carlson, was leaving the network immediately. The announcement, made by a Fox News spokesperson, conveyed the network’s gratitude to Carlson for his service as a host and contributor. Carlson’s last day hosting his show was reportedly last Friday.

Tucker Carlson was a major figure in the Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit

The ousting of Fox’s top opinion host took place just days after the network settled a landmark defamation lawsuit filed against them by Dominion Voting Systems for a whopping $787 million. The suit was over segments promoting bogus claims that election fraud had cheated then-President Donald Trump of victory in the 2020 presidential election. Carlson was featured prominently in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit, and he is also the focus of a separate lawsuit from his former senior booking producer, Abby Grossberg, who filed two separate suits.

In one of the lawsuits, Grossberg accused Tucker Carlson and Fox of sexism and harassment, alleging that his show's workplace was filled with examples of misogyny. Her lawsuit claims that Tucker Carlson and his team mocked up images depicting then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “in a bathing suit revealing her cleavage” and staffers were polled on which of two female candidates for Michigan governor they would rather have sex with, among other allegations.

Grossberg’s other lawsuit centers on the actions of Fox’s legal team. Grossberg claims that the attorneys pressured her to lie in her sworn statements for the defamation case about what she witnessed at the network. Fox vehemently denied the accusations against its lawyers and fired Abby Grossberg after she filed her lawsuits, alleging that she disclosed privileged information that she was not legally entitled to make public.

Tucker Carlson on and off the air were two different people

Before the Dominion Voting Systems settlement, documents made public revealed a stark contrast between what Tucker Carlson said on air and behind the scenes. On his show, he raised skeptical questions over the lack of evidence for assertions made by a key Trump ally, Sidney Powell. However, in January 2021, Carlson hosted a leading advertiser, My Pillow founder Mike Lindell, who repeated the false claims once more. In his private communications to a colleague, Tucker Carlson called Powell an exceptionally vulgar and denigrating term for a woman.

Fox News has stated that a rotating cast of personalities will fill in during the prime-time slot until the network names a permanent replacement. Tucker Carlson was Fox’s most prominent personality, stepping in to replace former star host Bill O’Reilly after a series of sexual harassment allegations forced him out. Carlson also had a significant presence on Fox Nation, the network’s streaming site catering to an even more pronounced right-wing audience.

Tucker Carlson managed to weather plenty of controversies until now

Despite his sudden departure, Tucker Carlson has weathered more controversies than most cable news stars could hope to survive. In July 2020, his top writer was forced out after it was discovered he had posted racist, sexist, and homophobic commentaries. Last month, the Daily Dot found that one of Tucker Carlson's staffers had the habit of "liking" posts from VDare, a site for white nationalists. His show has also been criticized by civil rights leaders for broadcasting racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant ideology.

Moreover, his work on his show, accompanied by specials on the streaming service, caused a firestorm by attempting to exonerate people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol as civic-minded individuals who were being politically persecuted.