Since 2009, former CNN and MSNBC host Tucker Carlson was a fixture for Fox News and its growing empire, and it seemed as if he might have spent the rest of his journalistic careeer as a controversy-courting mouthpiece for the cable news juggernaut. However, that all changed on April 24, just a week after the network was part of a high-dollar lawsuit settlement with Dominon Voting Systems, as an official report was released stating that Carlson was no longer employed at his longtime home.
A Fox News Media spokesperson shared the statement below:
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,
It's quite the shocking move for Fox News Media, which seemed destined to stick by Tucker Carlson's side even through the leaked texts and other messages that were made public through the Dominion lawsuit. To be sure, no reasoning was given for the parting of ways, as it were, so it's unclear what exactly was the cause for the split.
The split is effective immediately, also, with Fox News confirming that the Tucker Carlson Tonight that aired at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 21, was indeed its final broadcast. For the foreseeable future, the network announced that slot will now be filled by a show titled Fox News Tonight, which will feature a slate of rotating guest hosts from the network's ranks who will be familiar to audiences.
Carlson is one of the big reasons why Fox News' ratings beat out other cable news outlets year over year, so one would think he won't stay unemployed for very long. Though his intentionally polarizing viewpoints and approaches to news vs. opinion may limit the avenues that would open up for him on the small screen.
Having joined Fox News in 2009, Tucker Carlson served as a frequent contributor across a variety of programs hosted by now-former colleagues Greg Gutfeld and Bret Baier, among others, and eventually landed a co-hosting spot on Fox & Friends Weekend in 2013. Carlson spun the popularity from that gig out in 2016 by launching Tucker Carlson Tonight, which quickly became one of the network's highest rated offerings in 2017 and beyond.
It's presumed that Carlson's other efforts with Fox News Media, which also includes the Fox Nation podcast Tucker Carlson Today, will also be ending, though it's worth waiting until further updates to be sure about such things.
Interestingly enough, perhaps, this isn't even the first big public break-up involving a Fox News anchor this year, as network regular Julie Banderas announced her divorce on the air back in February.
The news of Tucker Carlson and Fox News parting ways was revealed not long before a similarly shocking bombshell was announced for CNN, with longtime anchor Don Lemon allegedly being let go without any forewarning at some point after he finished hosting Monday morning's telecast.
