Jesse Watters, a Fox News host who rose from production assistant to one of the conservative cable network’s biggest stars, will take over the 8 p.m. programming time slot vacated by Tucker Carlson, the company announced Monday.
In a statement, Fox News said Sean Hannity’s broadcast will remain in the 9 p.m. ET slot, while Greg Gutfeld’s show will move to 10 p.m. ET. Laura Ingraham’s hour will kick off the primetime programming block at 7 p.m. ET.
“Fox News Channel has been America’s destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup,” Suzanne Scott, the network’s CEO, said. “The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come.”
May 9, 202303:45
Watters is currently the host of the opinion show “Jesse Watters Primetime,” which airs at 7 p.m. He is also a regular panelist on “The Five,” one of the network’s most popular programs.
In recent years, Watters established himself as one of Fox’s most strident conservative culture warriors and a loyal defender of former President Donald Trump.
Watters has also drawn intense controversy over incendiary comments and on-air behavior.
In late 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Watters should be fired for using the phrase “kill shot” in a speech calling on young conservative activists to confront the public health leader with tough questions. Fox insisted Watters’ words had been taken out of context.
In 2016, Watters conducted a series of interviews with Asian American people in New York City’s Chinatown that critics found racist. In response, elected officials and activists protested outside the network’s headquarters. “I regret if anyone found offense,” Watters tweeted.
Watters got his start as a Fox News production assistant in 2002, when he was fresh out of college. He built a following on the network with ambush-style man-on-the-street interviews that many critics found hostile and abrasive.
Fox News said on April 24 it was parting ways with Carlson, the network’s most popular prime-time host and a leading voice in the modern conservative movement known for his right-wing views and conspiratorial rhetoric. He has since launched a new show on Twitter.
The network announced the stunning news days after it agreed to pay nearly $800 million to Dominion Voting Systems to avert a high-stakes defamation trial that had cast a shadow over the future of the network.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
