Reports that Tucker Carlson would no longer have a show on Fox News were greeted with shock and no small amount of glee on social media.
In a statement, Fox News said the conservative network 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,” adding that his last show was on Friday of last week.
According to The Washington Post, Carlson’s comments about the management at Fox News, which were revealed after Dominion Voting Systems sued the network for defamation, played an important role in his departure.
Former CNN host Brian Stelter — a frequent target of Carlson — broke the news and then added, "The biggest 'tell' in Fox's press release about Tucker Carlson's exit is that he is not getting a final show. No chance to say goodbye on his own terms or point people to his next home."
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Needless to say, a sleepy Monday morning on Twitter suddenly became alive when the news spread.
MSNBC contributor Dean Obeidallah was quickly out of the gate asking what happened, writing, "Tucker Carlson has been fired from Fox News. But why? Fox News had no problems with his defense of Jan 6, his white supremacy, his spewing election lies, etc. Did he kill someone?! (I mean did he kill a white person bc if he killed a person of color Fox keeps him)."
Political commentator Victor Shi added, "Fox just announced that Tucker Carlson is LEAVING the network & will no longer host his show. The person who lied & spread the most dangerous conspiracy theories to his audience is now gone & we should all be very glad. Hallelujah."
Media Matters head Angelo Carusone wrote, "Note: Tucker was supposed to do a show tonight. He was set to interview Vivek Ramaswamy. Fox had been promoting it this AM. So whatever happened, it was abrupt. My gut is Tucker didn’t want to play ball in this delicate moment for Fox News and it unravelled fast."
Daily Beast correspondent Jose Pagliery wrote, "History books will reflect how Tucker Carlson's final moment on Fox News involved him eating pizza and talking about munching on bugs," and included a clip that can be seen here.
Pundit Rick Wilson quipped, "When Tucker walked into Rupert's office Friday night he didn't know he was about to play Boar On The Floor." He later added, "Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox to spend more time with his fascism."
"He Tucked around and found out," wrote podcaster Rachel Vindman.
Podcaster Jemele Hill offered a cautionary note, writing, "F--k Tucker Carlson and alldat, but I’m not dancing on his professional grave because I know unless there is something truly unforgivable behind his ouster, there’s someone waiting in the wings to give him a bigger payday. Always is. Hope I’m wrong."
"A great day for the Republic," conservative attorney George Conway stated.
"I did nazi this coming Tucker Carlson out at fox," wrote pundit Keith Olbermann.
And advice columnist Dr. Ruth Westheimer may have gotten in the last word by writing, "If Fox News can break up with Tucker Carlson, maybe today is the day you break up that toxic relationship you're in."
