Fox News shares plummet as it parts ways with controversial host Tucker Carlson
The value of Fox News shares have plummeted after announcing it has "agreed to part ways" with Tucker Carlson, its popular and controversial host.
The announcement from Fox News comes less than a week after settling a lawsuit over the network's 2020 election reporting.
The network said in a press release that the last program of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" aired Friday.
"We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor," the press release from the network said.
In the wake of the announcement share prices of Fox Corp slumped over 4.8 per cent but shortly began to rally.
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Mr Carlson became Fox's most popular personality after replacing Bill O'Reilly in the network's prime-time lineup in 2016.
Fox News share value plummeted after the announcement (cnbc)He's also consistently drawn headlines for controversial coverage, including most recently airing tapes from the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to minimise the impact of the deadly attack.
There was no immediate explanation from Fox about why Mr Carlson was leaving. A text message to him seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Fox agreed last week to pay Dominion Voting Systems and acknowledged that some of its reporting following the 2020 election - which allowed former President Donald Trump's aides to amplify false charges of election fraud - was incorrect.
Dominion originally sued for $1.6billion (£1.2billion), but settled for a $787million (£634million) payment from Fox just moments before the trial was due to begin.
Tucker Carlson was one of Fox News' biggest draws (Getty Images)"The truth matters," Dominion's lawyer Justin Nelson said. "Lies have consequences."
Mr Carlson's name came up during the case, primarily because of email and text messages that were revealed as part of the lawsuit.
Mr Carlson and other Fox hosts were caught in private messages doubting their own network's allegations about Dominion's role in the supposed election fraud.
In some of them, Mr Carlson privately criticised Trump, saying he hated him passionately.
Former President Donald Trump with Tucker Carlson (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)A few weeks ago, an entire show was dedicated to an interview with the former President.
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The hour-long interview was interlaced with Carlson enthusiastically praising Trump, at one point describing what he had to say as "moderate, sensible and wise".
The interview, which critics have slammed as propaganda, came just a month after Carlson's private messages were revealed.
In them the Fox star described Trump as "a demonic force, a destroyer."
Fox News and Tucker Carlson have "agreed to part ways", the network announced (Getty Images)Another message read: "I hate him passionately."
But after the latest interview, Carlson described Trump saying: "His understanding of world affairs is so much more nuanced and sophisticated and pro-American than the moronic neocons currently in charge. It was remarkable."
"Fox News Tonight" will air in Mr Carlson's 8 pm ET prime-time slot, hosted by a rotating array of network personalities, for the time being.
Mr Carlson's segment will be replaced by a rotating array of network personalities (Getty Images)Carlson was recently named in a lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg, a Fox News producer fired after claiming that Fox lawyers had pressured her to give misleading testimony in the Dominion lawsuit.
Ms Grossberg had gone to work for Carlson after leaving Maria Bartiromo’s Fox show.
Her lawsuit says she learned “she had merely traded in one overtly misogynistic work environment for an even crueller one — this time, one where unprofessionalism reigned supreme, and the staff’s distaste and disdain for women infiltrated almost every workday decision.”
Fox has countered with its own lawsuit, trying to bar Grossberg from disclosing confidential discussions with Fox attorneys and saying in a statement that “her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless.”
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