Tucker Carlson’s Monday departure from Fox News was not mutual, as the network suggested, but rather a unilateral decision by network executives, according to news reports.
"He was totally surprised," a source who called Carlson's departure a "firing" told Mediaite. "He had no idea." The Los Angeles Times reported that the firing was initiated by Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch and other executives.
Sources for the Los Angeles Times told the outlet Carlson's firing is related to a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former producer for his show.
The Los Angeles Times’s source said the firing was not directly related to Fox Corp.'s settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which last week agreed to pay $787.5 million for spreading false claims about its voting machines during the 2020 election.
The news "hit like a bomb inside the network, shocking even staffers close to the ex-primetime host who had no idea this was coming," Mediaite reported.
The reports contradict Fox's Monday statement saying the company and Carlson "have agreed to part ways."
"We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor," the statement said.
Carlson has not commented publicly on his separation with the network.
Fox Corp.'s stock price fell in the hours after the announcement.
The network said Carlson's last program of Tucker Carlson Tonight was Friday and that an "interim show" will start Monday night hosted by rotating personalities. A new host has not been named.
In Carlson's last show on Friday, the host told viewers, "We'll be back on Monday," further suggesting Carlson lacked forewarning that he would be parting ways with the network.
Carlson advocated an isolationist national policy on the program, often questioning the United States' aid to Ukraine amid Russia's invasion of the country. The show frequently topped charts and was often the highest-rated cable news show.