Carlson took over as the main host in Fox's prime-time lineup in 2016, replacing Bill O'Reilly, and quickly became the network's most popular personality.
Fox News on Monday announced that Tucker Carlson, their well-known and controversial host, would be leaving the network. This decision came just days after the network reached a settlement in a lawsuit related to their coverage of the 2020 US presidential election.
According to a press release issued by Fox News, the final episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" aired on Friday, and the network expressed gratitude towards Tucker Carlson for his contributions as both a host and a contributor.
“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” it said.
Carlson took over as the main host in Fox's prime-time lineup in 2016, replacing Bill O'Reilly, and quickly became the network's most popular personality.
However, he has been the subject of numerous controversies due to his provocative coverage.
In his most recent controversial coverage, Carlson aired tapes from the January 6 Capitol insurrection, which some critics have argued downplayed the severity and impact of the violent attack that resulted in multiple deaths.
Last week, Fox made an agreement to pay Dominion Voting Systems a sum of over $787 million. Fox also admitted that some of its reporting in the aftermath of the 2020 election was inaccurate.
This reporting had provided a platform for former President Donald Trump's aides to spread baseless claims of election fraud.
But that reporting mostly concerned other shows, not Carlson’s. However, his name did surface during the proceedings due to the disclosure of email and text messages that were part of the lawsuit.
Several Fox News hosts, including Carlson, were discovered in private messages expressing skepticism towards their own network's claims regarding Dominion's involvement in alleged election fraud.
These hosts also reportedly voiced concerns about Fox News losing viewership among Trump supporters. Additionally, in some of the private messages, Carlson allegedly made critical comments about Trump, expressing a strong dislike for the former president.
A couple of weeks back, Carlson dedicated a full episode of his show to an interview with Trump.
Recently, Carlson was named in a lawsuit brought forth by Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News producer who alleges that she was fired for refusing to provide false testimony in the Dominion lawsuit.
Grossberg had joined Carlson's team after leaving her job at Maria Bartiromo's Fox show.
According to the lawsuit, Fox News has been accused of having a misogynistic work environment. The plaintiff alleges that “she had merely traded in one overtly misogynistic work environment for an even crueler one — this time, one where unprofessionalism reigned supreme, and the staff’s distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.”
Fox has responded with a counter lawsuit, attempting to prevent Grossberg from revealing confidential discussions with Fox attorneys and denying the validity of her claims.
As a result, Fox News Tonight will temporarily feature a rotating group of network personalities in place of regular host, Tucker Carlson.
For the moment, "Fox News Tonight" will be broadcasted during the 8 p.m. Eastern Time prime-time slot that was previously occupied by Carlson's show. The program will feature a rotating cast of personalities from the network as hosts.
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