The internet was rocked on Monday when Fox News released a statement saying, “FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.” The short press release lacked much detail about the abrupt exit of the network’s most popular host. It simply announced that Carlson’s last show had aired the previous Friday.
Immediately, speculations were fired off from nearly every Twitter account on the internet. Brian Kilmeade, who took Carlson’s place on Monday night’s show, acknowledged Carlson’s absence but gave no commentary or explanation.
A day later, neither Fox News nor Carlson have made further statements, fueling the rumor mill as to why this shocking cable news shakeup occurred. As for what Carlson will do next, many people speculate the beloved conservative pundit will go independent like Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, and Dan Bongino have before him.
This theory may be supported by a pop-up ad currently displayed on the homepage of Tucker Carlson’s website, inviting people to “Find out what Tucker’s up to next.”
If Carlson’s ouster wasn’t shocking enough, less than an hour later, CNN announced that Don Lemon was also leaving his host position. Lemon tweeted that he’d been suddenly fired, without warning, via his agent. He claimed CNN executives didn’t even “have the decency” to tell him directly. CNN, however, disputed that claim, saying that Lemon “was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
Reactions by both sides of the aisle
It’s not clear exactly why the cable news networks suddenly decided to make huge changes that guaranteed to upset their audiences. At least — it’s not clear why Fox would take such a risk pushing out its biggest host. CNN’s decision to fire Don Lemon was less shocking to the world.
Some speculated that CNN has been planning to fire Lemon for a while and took the opportunity to piggyback on Fox and, hopefully, downplay the news. If that’s the case, it seems to be working since Lemon has become a footnote to the bigger story at Fox.
At first, people weren’t sure whether Tucker Carlson was fired, quit himself, or there was a mutual agreement. Rumors on Twitter reported that Carlson was only informed 10 minutes before the public statement went out.
Another apparent leak suggested that Rupert Murdoch dropped the hatchet because he was, “Concerned over Carlson's coverage of January 6.”
Conservatives on Twitter gave an outpouring of love for Tucker Carlson. Nearly everyone had a positive or touching story to share about their interactions with a kind and caring Carlson.
Mainstream media headlines, on the other hand, were quick to point out that Carlson was let go right after Fox settled its defamation case with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million. And even more gleeful reactions from the left flooded the media.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a video celebrating Carlson’s ouster. She said, “Deplatforming works and is important.” Adding that, “Good things can happen.”
Along with AOC, the women of The View excitedly did the wave on their Monday morning show as the audience clapped and cheered. Ana Navarro encouraged the audience, saying, “C’mon folks: Na-na-na-na, na-na na-na. Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”
Late Night hosts all had a joke to crack at Carlson’s expense and CNN reporter Oliver Darcy slammed Carlson, tweeting:
Tucker Carlson once called me, out of the blue, a little more than a year ago to taunt me & say his “sources” indicated I’d be soon fired. He vowed to Venmo me $1,000 if I still was employed by CNN a year later. I have been unable to collect. I even Venmo requested him and nada!
https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy
Why are these media shakeups happening?
The many theories as to why Tucker Carlson was let go have not slowed down. There is a seemingly endless well of possibility when it comes to the motivations of Murdoch and Fox News.
A lot of people speculate that Fox needed some heads to roll after settling a huge amount of money in the Dominion case. If that’s the case, the bleeding doesn’t seem to be stopping for Fox. Markets Insider reported that Fox Corp. lost $962 million in market value after the announcement.
Others theorize that a recent lawsuit from an ex-producer caused Fox to ditch Carlson. Grossberg accused Carlson of running "a work environment that subjugates women based on vile sexist stereotypes."
Still more theories include the possibility that Carlson may want to make a presidential or vice-presidential run in 2024, the possibility that Fox is preparing to sell, and even that BlackRock, which owns a 15% stake in Fox, is throwing its weight around.
Some believe that Carlson wanted more creative control over his show than executives were willing to give him. Others claim it’s because Carlson spoke out against war, or big pharma, or the media itself.
What happens next?
No one seems to agree on why Fox News decided to drop the hammer on its most popular and beloved anchor. But one unified thought does seem to be echoing among conservatives. That is — whatever Tucker Carlson does next, it’s going to be big. And everyone is waiting to see it.
Carlson hasn’t announced his next moves yet. But he gave a speech for The Heritage Foundation on Friday that went viral. After recent events, his words feel even more powerful:
The second you decide to tell the truth about something, you are filled with this power from somewhere else. Try it. Tell the truth about something. You feel it every day. The more you tell the truth, the stronger you become.
Image Credit: Tucker Carlson speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore used under Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 2.0.
