In a shock announcement Monday, Fox News Media said that it would be parting ways with Tucker Carlson, the host of its 8 p.m. program Tucker Carlson Tonight. Carlson’s final show was on Friday.
“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 company said in a statement.
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Fox says a rotating slate of guest hosts will fill in at 8 p.m. on a show now called Fox News Tonight until a replacement is found. Brian Kilmeade anchored the show Monday night.
The decision to split with Carlson is a surprising one, with Carlson’s program routinely ranking as the most watched on Fox News and on some days all of cable TV. Carlson and Fox’s afternoon panel show The Five had been trading off the ratings crown in recent months.
Carlson had just inked a new contract with Fox News two years ago, a deal that included a dramatic expansion of Tucker Carlson original programming for the Fox Nation streaming service. Carlson was slated to interview Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy on Monday night, which the channel had been promoting earlier in the morning. But Kilmeade, who regularly co-hosts Fox & Friends, ended up handling the interview.
Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner announced Carlson’s departure on her program Monday, saying she had some “news from within our Fox News family,” before reading the channel’s statement on Carlson’s departure.
It is not immediately clear what spurred the decision. Personal texts and emails from Carlson were made public as part of the defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. Those communications included comments that he “passionately” hated Donald Trump, and comments criticizing Fox’s news-side journalists.
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Trump sat for an interview with Carlson earlier this month, his first since being indicted in a New York court.
But Carlson was also cited in a lawsuit from a former Fox producer, Abby Grossberg, who said the work environment was “sexist.” Grossberg worked as a senior producer on Carlson’s show.
Kilmeade opened the show Monday night by referencing Carlson’s exit. “As you probably have heard, Fox News and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” he said. “I wish Tucker the best. I’m great friends with Tucker and always will be.”
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