Why Did Tucker Carlson Leave Fox News? What We Know So Far About His Tension with the Network
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Fox News' only public comment so far has been that the network and Carlson "have agreed to part ways," followed by a show of gratitude for his years of employment with the media brand
The bombshell announcement Monday that Tucker Carlson had abruptly departed Fox News has been met with speculation and curiosity regarding what, exactly, caused the split between the right-wing media personality and the conservative network.
Fox News' only public comment so far has been that the network and 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."
In the statement, Fox News added that Carlson's last program was Friday. Beginning Monday evening, the network aired Fox News Tonight as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is determined. The first guest host is Brian Kilmeade.
Related:Tucker Carlson Departs Fox News, Effective Immediately
Carlson himself has not released a statement regarding the news, though from the outside, it seemed to be something of a surprise, considering Carlson ended what would be his final episode last Friday with the sign-off that he would be "back Monday."
But there have been signs of tension between Carlson and the network in recent months, due in large part to a $1.6 billion lawsuit brought against Fox News by voting equipment company Dominion Voting Systems, which was the subject of conspiracies of widespread election fraud and other wrongdoing in the wake of the November 2020 presidential election.
The voting company recently settled with the network, but not before text messages and emails by Carlson and other network personalities were made public as part of court filings.
Related:A Timeline of Tucker Carlson's Controversies
In addition to privately complaining about Donald Trump, even as he publicly courted his supporters, Carlson's text messages show that he lambasted Fox's management after the network accurately called the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden.
"Do the executives understand how much trust and credibility we've lost with our audience? We're playing with fire, for real," Carlson wrote in one message to fellow employees in the days following the election.
In another text exchange with fellow Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, Carlson called the network's news department "pathetic," writing that it had "destroyed a brand that took 25 years to build and the damage is incalculable."
The messages stemmed from one of the network's correspondents accurately tweeting that there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud — a fact that would later be backed up by dozens of courts across the country.
While many of Carlson's messages were made public, hundreds of pages of documents from the Dominion lawsuit were not — raising questions about what else the now-former Fox News host may have said about his colleagues and managers.
That Carlson's former top producer Justin Wells has also left the network (according to multiple outlets, including ABC News) adds to the theory that the exit could have stemmed from private conversations that came to light as part of the recent lawsuit.
The network ultimately settled its lawsuit with Dominion for $787.5 million dollars, though other legal issues persist.
Among them is a lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who alleges that she she experienced harassment and discrimination, and was on the receiving end of anti-Semitic comments while working for the network.
Grossberg, who previously worked as a booker on Tucker Carlson Tonight, further argues in her complaint that she "was isolated, overworked, undervalued, denied opportunities for promotion, and generally treated significantly worse than her male counterparts, even when those men were less qualified than her."
Fox has denied the claims, saying in a statement it would "continue to vigorously defend Fox against her unmeritorious legal claims, which are riddled with false allegations against the network and our employees."
Grossberg's own attorneys have suggested Carlson's ouster from Fox is related to that suit, saying in a statement to the Los Angeles Times: "Tucker Carlson's departure from Fox News is, in part, an admission of the systemic lying, bullying and conspiracy-mongering claimed by our client, former top producer Abby Grossberg. Mr. Carlson and his subordinates remain individual defendants in the case, and we look forward to taking their depositions under oath in the very near term."
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