Carlson’s departure from Fox News shocked the media world: A step toward accountability for the election lies and baseless conspiracy theories spread by Fox News
“This is a step towards accountability for the election lies and baseless conspiracy theories spread by Fox News, something I witnessed firsthand,” said Grossberg in the statement about Carlson’s ouster. “This is some justice for the American people and for Fox News viewers who’ve been manipulated and lied to for years, all in an attempt to boost the channel’s ratings and revenue.”
The sudden departure of Mr. Carlson from Fox shocked the media world because of his long-standing staying power and lucrative prime-time lineup. The host had weathered controversy over his years at Fox.
The exact reasons of his departure remained hazy on Monday night, but it came amid a series of high-stakes legal battles stemming from Fox’s post election campaign to convince Mr. Trump’s base and win back viewers who believe that his defeat was.
Carlson was a part of the lawsuit. Yet he is also the focus of a lawsuit from his former senior booking producer, Abby Grossberg, who filed two separate suits.
The Fox legal team is the focus of Grossberg’s other lawsuit. She says the attorneys pressured her to lie in her sworn statements for the defamation case about what she witnessed at the network.
Carlson was by far the network’s most prominent personality, stepping in smoothly to replace former star host Bill O’Reilly after a series of sexual harassment allegations forced his departure. O’Reilly has denied the accusations.
Despite his shocking departure, Carlson had endured more controversies than most cable news stars could hope to survive professionally. In July 2020, his top writer was forced out after it was discovered he had posted racist, sexist and homophobic commentaries. One of Carlson’s staff had a habit of liking posts on VDare, a site for white nationalists.
His work on his show — accentuated by specials on the streaming service — also sparked a firestorm by seeking to exonerate people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol as civic-minded people who were being politically persecuted.
Donald J. Carlson and the Rise of a Popular Commentator and Media Figure: A Memoir of Tucker Carlson, President of Fox News Sunday, and his Presidency in the Republican Party
Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday and several other prominent Fox figures left because of that.
The boycotting of Tucker Carlson’s more racist and inflammatory segments by advertisers on his show did not affect his standing within the network, as long as the audience stayed. Disdainful of the cable network’s top executives, Mr. Carlson cultivated the impression that he was close to the Murdoch family and, perhaps, untouchable.
The rise of a populist commentator and media figure, Mr. Carlson, prefigured Mr. Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party. He prospered because of Mr. Trump, who made frank nativism and seething cultural resentments of conservative politics.