Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News

Tucker Carlson, one of the most prominent faces of Fox News, is leaving the network immediately, the channel announced on Monday. News of Carlson leaving comes days after the network settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.

“FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement on Monday. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”

Carlson is not going to receive a formal send-off and his last show aired Friday.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

No other details were revealed about Carlson's departure and it isn't clear whether his exit is linked to the defamation lawsuit.

His recent interview with former president Donald Trump over his indictment was watched by seven million viewers, a huge figure in the US cable news.

In its $1.6 billion defamation suit, the Toronto-headquartered voting equipment company accused Fox News of promoting Donald Trump's false claims about the voting machines being rigged in the 2020 elections. Dominion says that Fox News knew that Trump was lying and still aired his falsehoods.

Carlson is seen as a top promoter of conspiracy theories at the network. He repeatedly said things that cast doubt over the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Carlson's private text messages with fellow hosts mocking Trump's claims about the election fraud have garnered attention.

One of the filings in the Dominion lawsuit revealed that some of the hosts mocked Trump's false election claims even while giving the matter a platform on air. A text from November 16, 2020, mentioned how Carlson said “Sidney Powell is lying” about having evidence for election fraud.

Dominion caught hold of Carlson’s group chat with other Fox primetime stars Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, and several more messages.

Also Read |Fox News-Dominion avoid trial, settle $1.6bn lawsuit over on-air 'stolen' election claim for $787.5m

In a statement to address the settlement, Fox News fell short of taking accountability for its 2020 presidential election coverage.

"We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false," it said.

Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch had acknowledged in a deposition that some Fox News hosts endorsed Trump's election lies in 2020. He also said in the testimony that he did nothing to stop them from doing so and promoting the claims.

Dominion says the channel started losing its audience after it first called Arizona for Biden and projected that he will win the presidency. In a bid to regain audience, it started endorsing Trump's conspiracy theories, it said.

"This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."

Dominion hailed that its lawsuit forced Fox to admit that it published false information about Dominion.

"Nothing can ever make up for that," Dominion's CEO John Poulos said.

"Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy. Dominion, our employees and our partners are grateful to the court for allowing the process for the truth to come out," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.