Tucker Carlson, a right-wing host, has been caught making inappropriate comments about women, including referring to his “postmenopausal fans” and calling a woman “yummy” in off-camera videos obtained by The New York Times. This comes after reports that the discovery of offensive and crude text messages sent by Carlson played a key factor in his firing from Fox News, where he hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight. Moreover, former producer Abby Grossberg’s lawsuit alleging Carlson’s “derogatory comments towards women” and “misogyny” is said to have contributed to a “crisis” at the network. This is part of a widespread pattern of abuse and gender-based retaliation at the company, which has been reported by various media outlets.
Fox News saw a plunge in ratings after Carlson’s exit, while smaller right-wing rival network, Newsmax, has seen a spike in primetime viewers. Meanwhile, Carlson broke his silence in a defiant and conspiracy-driven Twitter video on Wednesday night, which contained thinly-veiled jabs at his former employer as well as media reports outlining the likely motivations behind his exit.
Carlson was known for his promotion of fossil fuel industry talking points, conspiracy theories, and monologues interwoven with racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic material on his show. He has claimed that the “existence of winter disproves the science of climate change”, called climate science a “state religion”, and accused scientists and activists of “bullying” people like him and “hating the Earth” and nature. His Fox programming will be remembered as one of the most prolific disseminators of misinformation on the climate crisis in recent memory.
Since Carlson left Fox News, hundreds of thousands of viewers have abandoned the network in his old time slot, leading to a tumble in ratings. Fox drew 1.33 million viewers for substitute host Brian Kilmeade in the 8 pm slot on Wednesday night, putting the network second to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes in a competition Carlson used to dominate. This drop is significant, with a 56% decline from the 3.05 million viewers Carlson drew last Wednesday.
Within hours of Carlson’s exit from Fox News, he received a job offer from Russian state media personalities and propaganda outlets. Fox News has agreed to pay $787.5m to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over election lies amplified by the channel’s personalities, which may have been a factor in Carlson’s firing. Gretchen Carlson, who sued former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes in 2016 following sexual harassment allegations, wrote a column for The Daily Beast, stating that the network needs to “clean house completely” to commit to any significant change.
In conclusion, Tucker Carlson’s inappropriate comments about women and his promotion of misinformation on climate change have led to his firing from Fox News, where he hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight. The discovery of offensive text messages, former producer Abby Grossberg’s lawsuit, and plummeting ratings were factors in his exit. While Carlson has received a job offer from Russian state media, Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5m with Dominion Voting Systems and must work towards reforming its toxic culture, according to Gretchen Carlson.
Original Story at www.independent.co.uk – 2023-04-28 08:26:13
