Tucker Carlson leaves Fox News

One of the highest rated US TV hosts, Tucker Carlson, is leaving Fox News, the US media giant has announced. In a statement, Fox News said that the network and Mr Carlson have agreed to “part ways”.

His last TV programme was Friday 21 April, the statement added. His primetime slot will now be hosted by a series of interim hosts until a permanent replacement is found.

The brief two paragraph statement gave no reason for the decision.

On air, a Fox News anchor announced the departure with a tribute that thanked him “for his service to the network”.

Mr Carlson was not just a popular presenter, but also a historically influential one. His shows frequently set the agenda for conservatives and, by extension, the Republican Party.

His programme offered a blend of populist conservative takes on issues ranging from immigration, crime, race, gender and sexuality, with so-called “woke” ideology becoming a frequent target of his.

It made up four of the top ten rated programmes on US cable TV, according to Nielson data for the week 27 March to 2 April.

He was Fox News’ top rated host, with more than three million viewers tuning in on an average night.

While the host often publicly agreed with Donald Trump, whose politics have transformed the Republican Party in recent years, he would occasionally diverge from the former president’s political views.

His recent interview with Mr Trump netted seven million viewers, unheard of in the world of US cable news.

The announcement comes just days after Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company Dominion over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

In the lawsuit, Dominion argued that its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims its machines were rigged against Mr Trump.

The case prompted disclosures of text messages that showed Mr Carlson’s private views often contrasted with his on-air output.

His show, which aired in the coveted 20:00 to 21:00 EST slot, was cited repeatedly in court documents by Dominion’s attorneys in their claim some of its output was defamatory.

Additionally, Fox News is also facing a lawsuit filed in March by former booker Abby Grossberg in which she accused him of “vile sexist stereotypes”. Fox News has countersued and said it would “vigorously defend these claims”.

Mr Carlson’s latest interview with Mr Trump came two weeks ago, despite disclosures in the Dominion case showing he had privately said he “hated” the ex-

December, prompting the US government to do the same., president.

He also interviewed Twitter CEO Elon Musk during what would become his final week on Fox News.

Among those who reacted to news of Mr Carlson’s departure from Fox was New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes, who tweeted the word “wow” as well as an older video in which she accused him of “incitement of violence” through his on-air remarks.

Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake - a repeated guest on Mr Carlson’s show - praised his departure from Fox, tweeting that it would allow him to be “free” and “uncensored”.

‘Back on Monday’

His departure appears to have been sudden and came without the usual farewell that might be expected from a long-serving presenter.

Source;BBC