Fox News political commentator and primetime anchor Tucker Carlson was sacked from his nightly news program last week. The long-running and most-watched news segment in the United States was abruptly canceled without him even having a chance to say goodbye. While no official reason for the termination has been released, many have speculated that it was due to his controversial opinions. But was it really? Let’s put what happened under the microscope to try and get to the truth of it all.
In a time and age where everyone, every day gets hired and fired, at a moment where companies like BuzzFeed News shut down, it’s not really that surprising. But when it comes to the news anchor with the highest ratings in America in the 25 to 55 years old segment, it’s big news. Tucker was in Fox in a post-Roger Aisles era when paygrades weren’t as high as back in the day. Still, things look great for Tucker because he’ll take his audience wherever he decides to go in the future while things rating-wise look bleak for Fox News.
Why Was Tucker Carlson Fired From Fox News?
Fox News stated in an official press release that the network and Carlson decided to part ways, but that release had no official reason to do so. While the rumors grow big saying that his exit comes after Fox had to settle a multi-million defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting following the controversy of the 2020 Presidential election. However, sacking Tucker for that makes little to no sense because he was the voice of reason in that network the moment when the controversy sparked.
It was Tucker Carlson who disputed the claims by Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani during the stirrup after the election. It was he who said that voter fraud claims were to be taken seriously and that substantial proof was necessary to support those claims. And while there are some text messages between him and his production crew that surfaced during the Fox vs. Dominion lawsuit, those comments were made in private and never on air. Those texts pale in comparison to those of the board of directors from the network and their depositions during the lawsuit.
Why Tucker?
Tucker Carlson was consistently critical of Donald Trump on his editorials, and yet former US President Trump gave him interviews. Moreover, the ones at Fox News who did go on air questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election didn’t even get a slap on the wrist, like Jeanine Pirro or Maria Bartiromo. It makes no sense that Carlson got the boot and Pirro or Bartiromo, who went public in supporting unsubstantiated voter fraud claims don’t get a reprimand.
What happens is that the political establishment from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Neo-Conservatives have a profound disdain for Tucker Carlson’s opinions on topics like the Ukraine War (Carlson’s the only one questioning on prime time what the US get out of that), culture wars, and the problems that the current administration faces.
Also Read: Who is Tucker Carlson’s Wife? A Deep Dive through their Love Journey!
Fox News Ratings Tanked After Tucker Carlson’s Departure
After Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News, the network decided to replace him with rotating news anchors as they decide who fills his slot. But here’s the deal, ratings for Fox News tanked massively in the most important segment demographic for that kind of program. It seems that Fox News management shot themselves in the foot when they let go of the man who put them on top of the ratings.
Good evening pic.twitter.com/SPrsYKWKCE
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) April 27, 2023
Shortly after his exit, Carlson did a short five-minute segment on his Twitter that had over 45 million reproductions saying that he’ll be back. And while he’s not specifying yet where he’s going, it’s evident that his audience will follow him. Just like Megyn Kelly’s audience did when she left Fox to NBC and then to her own podcast or like Glenn Beck, both of whom have their own platforms and are in no way, shape or form constrained by corporate editorial lines. As such, Tucker now has the freedom to say and do what he pleases.
Also Read: Tucker Carlson Net Worth: How Much Does The Commentator Make?
