Tucker Carlson, host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio in New York.
Tucker Carlson has parted ways with Fox News, the network said on Monday.
“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the network said in a statement.
Carlson’s last show was Friday, the network said.
Fox said it would air a new program called “Fox News Tonight” at 8 p.m. starting Monday evening as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named.
Carlson was Fox’s top-rated prime time host, netting an average of more than 3 million viewers per night, the most of any pundit on cable television.
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Carlson’s departure from the network came less than a week after it agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems over coverage of former President Trump’s false claims of voter fraud and the company’s software.
Depositions taken by Dominion’s lawyers exposed a number of private communications from top hosts at the network, including Carlson.
In one widely publicized text exchange with fellow primetime hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, Carlson said he hated Trump “passionately” and called the former president’s claims of voter fraud “insane.”
Carlson’s show launched in 2016 and regularly featured controversial guests and segments on matters of race, immigration and other hot political topics of the day.
His hourlong opinion program, which featured an opening monologue and guest interviews, often acted as a proving ground for Republican office-seekers and conservative activists looking to broaden their reach with voters and donors.
Earlier this month, Trump sat for an extensive interview with Carlson, which the former president used to bash Democrats and the media.
THE NEWS
CNN has parted ways with Don Lemon, its star anchor who had a rocky start as the co-host of a new morning show.
"Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years," the network said in a statement. "We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors."
KNOW MORE
In a tweeted statement, Lemon said that his agent told him Monday that his contract had been terminated, criticizing CNN leadership for not having the "decency" to tell him directly.
"It is clear that there are some larger issues at play," he wrote.
CNN responded saying Lemon's statement is "inaccurate."
"He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter," the network's public relations team said.
Lemon's ouster was the second major shakeup in cable news on Monday. Minutes earlier, Fox News announced that it has parted ways with star primetime host Tucker Carlson.
STEP BACK
Lemon joined CNN in 2006 and hosted a late evening show from 2014 to 2022. Late last year he was announced as a co-host of the new show "CNN This Morning," alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
Lemon came under fire in February after making remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley which were widely seen as sexist. In a segment broadcasted live on-air, Lemon said that Haley "isn't in her prime," adding that "a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s."
When asked about Lemon at the Semafor Media Summit earlier this month, CNN CEO Chris Licht said he "is a lightning rod because he really came to prominence during an era where that was celebrated and encouraged in prime time ... The world has moved on from that. Don has moved on from that."
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