Rupert Murdoch called Hannity an ableist slur — and considered firing him: new book

Fox Corporation founder Rupert Murdoch privately disparaged top Fox News personality Sean Hannity — and considered canning him to try to make the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit go away, according to a new Michael Wolff book, "The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty," analyzed on Tuesday by The Daily Beast.

"'When Murdoch was brought reports of Hannity’s on- and off-air defense of Fox’s postelection coverage, he perhaps seemed to justify his anchor: ‘He’s ret--ded, like most Americans,' Wolff writes in one chapter that notes how Hannity had pushed Fox to stick by Trump," reported Lachlan Cartwright and Justin Baragona. According to the report, Murdoch also "considered axing Hannity as a way of giving the voting-systems firm 'a head' in exchange for a settlement."

"As a way to justify the hypothetical firing, Wolff adds, Lachlan Murdoch proposed citing the host’s previously secret romantic relationship with Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt, using ex-CNN CEO Jeff Zucker’s firing as precedent," the report continued.

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Ultimately, Murdoch didn't go through with this plan — instead firing another primetime host Tucker Carlson.

The book reportedly contains a number of other lurid behind-the-scenes allegations about the goings-on at Fox, including that Carlson allegedly hosted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for dinner while Murdoch was pushing him as an alternative candidate for Trump, and that Carlson wrote him off as a "fascist" after DeSantis manhandled one of Carlson's family dogs.

The Dominion lawsuit, which detailed numerous defamatory attacks on the electoral process by Fox News hosts and guests, was eventually settled for almost $800 million. A similar lawsuit for $2.7 billion filed by elections equipment company Smartmatic is still pending.