Fox News suddenly parted ways with its longtime host Tucker Carlson on Monday morning, sending shockwaves through the media industry and raising questions about what could have happened for the conservative cable news network to separate with one of its biggest stars.
For nearly a decade, the controversial and combative host occupied marquee positions within the network's prime time weeknight schedule, establishing Carlson as one of the most recognizable faces of not only Fox News, but the entire conservative movement.
More stunning about his exit from the network, however, was the fact nobody—even Carlson himself—seemed to see it coming.
Days before today's announcement, Carlson appeared to fully anticipate being on television the following week, ending his show Friday with the words, "We'll be back on Monday." And on Monday, Fox News itself appeared to be gearing up for Carlson to be back on the air that evening, even promoting a scheduled interview with GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy that was supposed to air.
Representatives for Fox News declined to comment, instead referring Newsweek to an earlier statement issued by the company late Monday morning.
"FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways," the statement read. "We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor."
Newsweek has reached out to Ramaswamy's campaign for comment. A representative of Carlson could not be reached for comment.
An early embracer of former President Donald Trump, Carlson has also attracted attention for his views on topics like the war in Ukraine and white nationalism that have made him a lightning rod for criticism as well as viewership—an understanding that has helped Fox retain a position of supremacy at the top of the Nielsen ratings.
However, Fox appears to be in the midst of a significant change in culture after its recent $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over alleged falsehoods the network's hosts—Carlson included—helped elevate about the company's devices on-air during the 2020 election cycle.
In addition to Carlson, his show's top producer, Justin Wells, was also let go from the network, according to Semafor. And last week, another top Fox News host, Dan Bongino, suddenly left the company over what he described as failed contract talks with the company.
However, Bongino downplayed any speculation his departure was tied to the Dominion settlement or any other shakeup at the company on his podcast last week.
"I want you to know it's not some big conspiracy, I promise you," he said at the time. "There's no acrimony. This wasn't some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn't come to terms on an extension."
While Carlson has not yet spoken publicly about the situation, others openly speculated online about what could have potentially contributed to his departure.
"Whatever happened, it was abrupt," Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America, tweeted after the news. "My gut is Tucker didn't want to play ball in this delicate moment for Fox News and it unravelled fast."
Note: Tucker was supposed to do a show tonight. He was set to interview Vivek Ramaswamy. Fox had been promoting it this AM.
So whatever happened, it was abrupt.
My gut is Tucker didn’t want to play ball in this delicate moment for Fox News and it unravelled fast.
— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) April 24, 2023Others noted that the politics of Carlson's show may have begun trending farther to the right of Fox News' current editorial line—including questionable claims about the truth surrounding the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building as well as the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine—that could potentially have made executive leadership squeamish.
In an April 19 monologue on his show, Carlson used his platform to rail against "corrupt" news outlets, with Fox News included, who were reluctant to rail against their advertisers in the pharmaceutical industry.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy—who has embraced dubious claims about the safety of the vaccine—said the two incidents were related on Twitter on Monday.
"Carlson's breathtakingly courageous April 19 monologue broke TV's two biggest rules: Tucker told the truth about how greedy Pharma advertisers controlled TV news content and he lambasted obsequious newscasters for promoting jabs they knew to be lethal and worthless," Kennedy tweeted Monday. "For many years, Tucker has had the nation's biggest audience averaging 3.5 million — 10 times the size of CNN. Fox just demonstrated the terrifying power of Big Pharma."
Fox fires @TuckerCarlson five days after he crosses the red line by acknowledging that the TV networks pushed a deadly and ineffective vaccine to please their Pharma advertisers. Carlson’s breathtakingly courageous April 19 monologue broke TV’s two biggest rules: Tucker told the…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 24, 2023Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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