Tucker Carlson fired – breaking news: ‘Blindsided’ Fox News host negotiates new contract as Murdoch fires him

After the duel chorus of doomsayers and giddy celebrants died down on Monday, the question still remains as to why Carlson was fired.

While there is no definite answer to that question at the moment, my colleague Graig Graziosi lists some contenders that – in part or in full – may explain why the conservative cable news network removed its biggest star without giving him such a farewell tweet.

A high-profile defamation trial in Delaware and actions in a lawsuit targeting his Tucker Carlson tonight work kicked off what will be the Fox News host’s final week.

Meanwhile, he’s back in the 8pm slot every night with his scathing monologues and conspiracy theories beamed to millions of televisions across the country, described as a country under siege by Democratic officials and the cruel hordes under their rule. Tucker Carlson tonight Ending up with several boxes of pizza across his desk as he promotes a documentary that flashes a far-right conspiracy theory that world leaders want people to eat bugs.

The right-wing channel One America News Network released an open offer to Tucker Carlson days after his exit from Fox News.

“Tucker Carlson is Leaving Fox Nation,” the network tweeted. “Maybe the loss of Fox News will be OANProfit, Founder and CEO Rob Herring would like to extend an invitation to Carlson to meet for negotiations.

Christina Wyman, who declined an invitation to appear Tucker Carlson tonight in 2017, writing for The Independent:

Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson who are leaving Fox News and CNN have reportedly hired Bryan Freedman as their attorney to navigate the exits.

A famous lawyer, Mr Freedman has a track record of obtaining multimillion-dollar settlements for TV stars, reported the New York Times.

He represented former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who sought $125m in wrongful termination claims in 2021 and helped Megyn Kelly get a full contract payout after she left NBC.

The so-called “great replacement theory” promoted by far-right extremists invokes a violent, antisemitic and racist conspiracy theory central to white supremacism, that white people are targeted for “replacement ” of immigrants, people of color and Muslims as part of a Jewish plot.

The conspiracy theory also underlines acts of violence motivated by hatred, including the massacres in El Paso, Texas and Buffalo, New York.

“The time will come,” he said Monday. “For too long, Tucker Carlson has used his primetime show to spew antisemitic, racist, xenophobic and anti-LGBTQ hatred to millions. [ADL] has long called for his firing for this and many other offenses, including spreading the Great Replacement Theory.

Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News led to a drop in the channel’s prime time ratings on Monday while breathing life into its competitor, according to a report.

The channel got an average of 2.6 million viewers, reported CNN, citing Nielsen Media Research. The difference is huge compared to Carlson when a total of 3.2 million viewers watched the channel on 17 April, when he hosted.

Meanwhile, Newsmax, which averaged 146,000 viewers at 8 p.m., on Monday, saw a threefold jump to 531,000 after Carlson was taken off the air this week.

Two media industry bombs exploded within minutes of each other on Monday 24 April, with two of the biggest names in the cable news business suddenly leaving their perches.

Over at Fox News, conservative culture warrior Tucker Carlson is gone after dominating the channel’s primetime lineup for more than half a decade.

Read this report from John Bowden why they were fired:

If I can thank Tucker Carlson for anything, it’s for bursting the blissfully ignorant bubble I lived in before even knowing his name, writes Christina Wyman.

A large number of Mr Carlson’s private communications were revealed during the discovery process in the defamation case against the network by Dominion Voting Systems.