Fox News is parting ways with conservative firebrand Tucker Carlson, one of the network’s most popular prime-time anchors.
The network announced the stunning news in a statement Monday morning, days after parent company Fox Corp. agreed to pay nearly $800 million to Dominion Voting Systems to avert a high-stakes defamation trial.
“FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in the news release. “Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st.”
Fox News did not specify why Carlson is leaving the network, and a spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an email from NBC News.
Carlson’s program, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” remained one of the most watched cable news shows, outpacing rivals at MSNBC and CNN.
In the lead-up to the Dominion trial, Carlson’s internal communications were released and showed him criticizing former President Donald Trump and acknowledging the falsity of his claims about the 2020 election.
Carlson, a longtime political commentator who worked for CNN and MSNBC before joining Fox News, emerged in recent years as one of the channel’s most-watched opinion hosts while also embracing far-right rhetoric and culture war issues.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
