Twenty-four hours after Fox News dropped its top-rated host, the network has yet to lay out one of the most shocking defenses in cable news history: “I’m not going beyond the release,” a Fox News spokeswoman texted yesterday when I asked her for comment. Voiding this information, multiple theories about why Fox fired Carlson circulated in the media. It was the fallout of the $787.5 million Dominion settlement; punishment for vulgar text messages published in Dominion lawsuits; more Fox producer Abby Grossberg‘s lawsuit, which accused Carlson of overseeing a hostile work environment. (Fox News has vowed to “vigorously defend” the company against “Grossberg’s baseless legal claims.”)
But none of these possible reasons are entirely accurate Fox News anchor Mary Bartiromo much more hyped Dominion conspiracies than Carlson, and yet she remains on the air. Fox had access to Carlson’s texts and emails in the Dominion trial for months and didn’t punish him for it. Fox hosts sued for sexual harassment in the past were publicly fired for good reason, but Carlson wasn’t. According to one source, Carlson wasn’t even fired and remains on Fox News’ payroll.
So the mystery remains: Why did Fox News take its biggest star off the air?
A new theory has emerged, said the source, chairman of Fox Corp Rupert Murdoch Removed Carlson due to comments Carlson made during a speech at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary gala on Friday night. Carlson laced his speech with religious undertones that even Murdoch found too extreme, said the source, who was briefed on Murdoch’s decision-making. Carlson told the Heritage audience that national politics has become a Manichean struggle between “good” and “evil”. Carlson said people who advocate for transgender rights and DEI programs want to destroy America and cannot be convinced with facts. “We should say that and stop having these totally fraudulent debates… I’ve tried. It doesn’t work,” he said. The answer, Carlson suggested, was to pray. “I’ve come to the conclusion that it might be worth taking just 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to pray for the future, and I hope you will,” he said. “That stuff drives Rupert crazy. He doesn’t like all the spiritual talk,” the source said.
Carlson declined to comment. A spokesman for Fox Corp. declined to comment.
It has been reported that the CEO of Fox Corp Lachlan Murdoch and CEO of Fox News Susan Scott made the decision to fire Carlson on Friday night. Another source, a person close to Murdoch, has said something similar to me. Scott notified Carlson of the decision Monday morning.
Rupert Murdoch may have been unnerved by Carlson’s messianism because it echoed Murdoch’s ex-fiancé’s end-time worldview. Anne Lesley Smith, said the source. In my May cover story, I reported that Murdoch and Smith called off their two-week engagement because Smith had been telling people that Carlson was “a messenger from God.” Murdoch had seen Carlson and Smith firsthand about religion talk. In late March , Carlson had dinner at Murdoch’s Bel Air vineyard with Murdoch and Smith, according to the source. During the dinner, Smith pulled out a Bible and began reading passages from the Book of Exodus, the source said. “Rupert sat Just there and stared,” the source said. A few days after dinner, Murdoch and Smith called off the wedding. By taking Carlson off the air, Murdoch also took away his ex’s favorite show.
Smith did not respond to a request for comment.
The 92-year-old mogul’s broken engagement is part of a series of erratic decisions he’s made lately that raise questions about Murdoch’s leadership of his media empire. According to sources, executives at Fox are worried about Murdoch’s unsteady hand on The wheel. from the company. “It’s like the king is senile, but nobody wants to say anything,” the source said. According to two sources, Fox settled with Dominion shortly before the trial was due to begin because Fox’s lawyers did not want Murdoch to testify in public. “They hoped and prayed for months to get a settlement, but they wouldn’t pay,” the second source said. Once the trial began, the attorneys told Fox execs that Murdoch would be “disgraced in the stands.” , run out of the boardroom, and his testimony will expose him as a lunatic slipping into senility.” (The person close to Murdoch disputed this. “Rupert was very well prepared to testify.”)
