Tucker Carlson Firing: Controversial Host's Exit Still a Mystery as Fox News Ratings Tumble

The reason behind Tucker Carlson's firing from Fox News remains unclear. Thus, different reports of why he was pushed out have popped up.

It happened as Fox News prime-time ratings plummeted after the conservative network canceled Carlson's show and replaced it with "Fox News Tonight."

According to The Guardian, the reason behind his abrupt firing is still unclear as Fox News has yet to give a reason for the departure.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported that Carlson was fired after executives found vulgar text messages, including one in which the TV host called a top executive of Fox News the C-word.

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times reported that his firing was connected to Abby Grossberg's discrimination lawsuit against him and the network.

Grossberg was Carlson's ex-senior booking producer, who said she experienced bullying and was subjected to antisemitic comments.

Another report from Vanity Fair noted that Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch was disturbed by Carlson's comments at a recent Heritage Foundation event.

Carlson reportedly urged people to find 10 minutes for prayer each day. "That stuff freaks Rupert out. He doesn't like all the spiritual talk," an anonymous source told the outlet.

As for reports about Carlson's leaked text messages talking badly about a Fox executive, those close to the fired host are skeptical that this was the main reason for his firing.

One of them told The Guardian that Tucker Carlson's firing might be related more to the $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voter Systems.

"An elderly Australian man fired his top anchor with no warning because he was so offended by a dirty word? Stupidest explanation ever. Please," said a person close to Carlson. "A big decision requires a powerful motive. Naughty words in text messages don't qualify."

'Tucker Carlson Tonight' Replacement Struggles in Ratings

When Tucker Carlson was fired, Fox News replaced his show, "Tucker Carlson Tonight," with "Fox News Tonight," which has a rotating schedule of hosts. It kicked off with substitute host Brian Kilmeade in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour timeslot on Wednesday night, though it did not do as well as its predecessor.

Kilmeade only drew 1.33 million viewers when he hosted, down 56% from the 3.05 million viewers that Carlson used to have. According to the Associated Press, he also lost the rating battle to MSNBC's Chris Hayes.

This slump in ratings echoed what happened at Fox News back in 2020, right after they called Arizona for President Joe Biden. Many viewers were angered at the network making the correct call that many switched over to rival Newsmax.

That led to Fox News spreading lies about the 2020 presidential election, which prompted lawsuits from Dominion and Smartmatic.

GOP Establishment Largely Ignored Tucker Carlson Firing

Tucker Carlson's firing was largely met with indifference by the Republicans.

Even though they think the host's influence is significant on both their base voters and a handful of former President Donald Trump supporters, many of the party's hawkish lawmakers have shrugged at the news as they think that he "never truly resonated in national security and military matters," according to Politico.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said: "You have got to think about the scale - I know he had an audience of three million people. There are 330 million people in the country."

He added that Carlson and other TV anchors have bigger sway over what lawmakers "think is wrong versus how they can make things better."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Hear What Happened to Fox News' Ratings Without Tucker Carlson - From CNN