It was revealed on Monday that Tucker Carlson will be departing Fox News, with his farewell episode airing on Friday, April 21.
According to Forbes, the network issued a statement saying, “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have decided to part ways.”
In its statement, Fox said, “We thank him for his contribution to the network as a host and before that as a contributor. Friday, April 21, was the day of Mr. Carlson’s final program. Starting this evening at 8 PM/ET, Fox News Tonight will run live as a stand-in program hosted by various FOX News presenters until a new host is appointed.”
Since Monday morning, rumors have been flying about how Fox made the decision to split ways with its top staff, especially after the company’s market value dropped by about a billion dollars.
There may be some explanations in a recent article in Vanity Fair headlined Tucker Carlson’s Prayer Talks Could Have Led to Fox News Ouster: “That Talk Freaks Rupert Out.”
The article claims that Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch fired Carlson over a speech he gave at the 50th anniversary gala of The Heritage Foundation in which Tucker focused on the philosophical conflict between good and evil.
Carlson urged the crowd in the now-famous address to spend 10 minutes each day praying for the future. “That thing freaks Rupert out,” Vanity Fair was told by a source. “He dislikes all the religious discourse.”
Further in the story, it is claimed that Murdoch was “unnerved with Carlson’s messianic belief because it mirrored the end-times viewpoint of Murdoch’s ex-fiancée Ann Lesley Smith, the source stated.”
Smith alongside Murdoch broke off a two-week engagement “due to Smith telling folks Carlson was ‘a prophet from God,'” the piece said.
This was reportedly made worse when Smith and Carlson discussed religion over dinner in late March while they were talking about the Book of Exodus. The insider told Vanity Fair, “‘Rupert simply sat back and stared.'”
The report goes on to say that by firing Tucker Carlson, Murdoch, who had broken off his marriage to Smith, had also fired his ex-girlfriend’s favorite program.
If these allegations are accurate, it would be a grave indictment of Rupert Murdoch’s alleged petty behavior. There isn’t much hard evidence to support Tucker’s departure, though.
