Fox News personality Tucker Carlson is quitting the influential conservative TV network, the network said on Monday, in a stunning decision just days after the network was forced to make a large cash settlement to resolve a defamation action.
Carlson was Fox’s most well-known presenter, delivering a successful prime-time evening show that earned a fiercely loyal viewership among right-wing viewers.
He was a significant role in Republican politics, frequently interviewing Donald Trump and was heavily chastised for his harsh approach and apparent lack of journalistic standards.
“Fox News Media and Tucker 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,” the network said in a statement.
Carlson, 53, who joined the network in 2009, did not immediately respond to the statement.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” slammed liberal themes in modern America, from immigration regulations to gun control, appealing to viewers’ fury and propelling the show to the heights of cable television.
– Fox’s fallen favorite –
The $787.5 million defamation settlement reached last week ensured that neither Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch nor Fox Network stars like Carlson would have to testify in what was expected to be a contentious trial.
However, extensive internal Fox News contacts disclosed by US media prior of the scheduled trial suggested that senior executives at the network were willing to spread falsehoods about the election in order to avoid losing viewers to rivals.
In leaked communications, Carlson said he couldn’t wait until he could “ignore Trump most nights,” adding, “I hate him passionately.”
Fox News accused plaintiffs Dominion of “cherry-picking and taking quotes out of context.”
Dominion, a voting technology business, received the massive compensation from Fox after suing the network for falsely claiming that its equipment were used to steal Trump’s 2020 presidential election.
Despite the criticism, Fox News had historically backed Carlson at all costs since he generated national controversy, media attention, viewers, and advertising income.
In a 2020 slander case, the network’s lawyers claimed that viewers understood to be skeptical of material on his show.
Despite his political clout, Carlson lives far from the heart of the US government, in a rural area of Maine, where he occasionally records his show.
He appeared relaxed and confident during his last show on Friday evening, and his sudden departure shocked Washington and Wall Street, with Fox News‘ share price falling nearly four percent.
Carlson has long attracted reports that he would seek to enter politics but previously dismissed suggestions he had presidential ambitions, saying “I’m a talk show host; I enjoy it.”