Tucker Carlson, the highest rating talk show host on US cable TV, has left Fox News with immediate effect.
In a statement, Fox News said it and Carlson had agreed to “part ways”. His last TV programme was broadcast on Friday 21 April.
NPR reported Suzanne Scott and Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executives of Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp. respectively, had decided Carlson’s fate. However, Los Angeles Times went further, suggesting the move was because of the intervention of Rupert Murdoch.
The 53-year-old presenter, who averaged 3 million viewers for his nightly show, was the darling of the right. While in broad agreement with Donald Trump, his views would occasionally differ from those of the former president.
During the case brought against Fox News by the voting technology company Dominion, a number of texts were published revealing a rift between Carlson and Trump.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” he wrote in a text sent on 4 January 2021. “I truly can’t wait.”
“I hate him passionately”.
Dominion argued that senior executives and broadcast hosts at Fox were aware that the conspiracy claims promoted by Donald Trump were false.
Last week Fox News settled the lawsuit with Dominion, which it had accused of falsifying election results, through a £633 million out of court settlement.
