Tucker Carlson speaks during 2022 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on November 17, 2022, in Hollywood, Florida. | Jason Koerner/Getty Images
In a stunning announcement, Fox News said it has “agreed to part ways” with Tucker Carlson, the host of the network’s highest-rated primetime show (and one of the highest-rated shows on basic cable, period), effective immediately.
The news comes less than a week after Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over false election claims. Though Carlson’s role in the lawsuit has been reported to be relatively small, some of his texts that were uncovered in the discovery process for the suit made headlines.
The details surrounding Carlson’s sudden departure from Fox News remain murky, but there’s plenty of speculation that another, bigger scandal is behind it waiting to be uncovered — something that would merit cutting off the network’s biggest star without even giving him a chance to say goodbye. It also remains unclear what’s next for Carlson or what Fox News will look like without its biggest star (and potential liability) at the helm.
Follow here for Vox’s coverage of Tucker Carlson’s ouster from Fox News.