Other former Fox personalities question popular host’s sudden departure
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly reacted to Monday’s news that Tucker Carlson would be departing by saying it was a “terrible move” on the network’s part.
“This is a terrible move by Fox, and it’s a great thing for Tucker Carlson,” Kelly said during an episode of her podcast on Monday.
In a news release, Fox confirmed it is parting ways with Carlson, who was its most popular cable news host and a leading conservative voice. Carlson has not issued a public comment about the matter.
“I don’t know what drove Fox News to make this decision. And it was clearly Fox News’ decision because they’re not letting him say goodbye,” Kelly said. “That’s my supposition. That’s not inside knowledge … talk about misjudging your audience yet again.”
Carlson’s last broadcast was on Friday, April 21. During the final on-air segment, Carlson told his Fox viewers that he would be back on Monday.
Kelly added that the news was “Good for Tucker” and that “trust me, he doesn’t need them.”
A Fox anchor, Harris Faulkner, said Monday that the two sides had “mutually” decided to part ways. Few details about what happened have been revealed.
Fox has not issued any comment on Carlson’s leaving the channel beyond a statement stating that it wanted to “thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” In an article reporting on his departure, Fox News turned off its comments section.
Kelly, too, was among the most popular Fox News personalities before she left the channel in 2017. Since leaving, she has become critical of the network and hosts a popular podcast.
After taking Fox News’ 8 p.m. ET timeslot in 2017, Carlson quickly became among the network’s most popular hosts and remained so up until the end. For the week ending April 16, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was the most-watched cable news show, averaging 3.389 million viewers, while the next most popular show was “The Five” on Fox News, which averaged about 3 million, according to data from Nielsen.
