Fox News announced on Monday that television host Tucker Carlson would be leaving Fox News Media.
“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” Fox News Media said in a press release.
The announcement comes just one week after Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million in a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems.
In the case, Dominion exposed private communications with Fox show hosts, including Carlson, over the coverage of former president Donald Trump’s claims on voter fraud. According to The Hill, Carlson talked about firing Fox employees who fact-checked Trump.
Carlson was one of Fox’s most popular television commentators, hosting his own nightly conservative political talk show since 2016. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” aired its last show on Friday.
“Tucker Carlson Tonight” was one of the highest-rated shows on Fox, known for Carlson’s political controversies and prominent popularity after the 2020 election.
Fox has announced that until a permanent replacement for Carlson is found, an interim program “Fox News Tonight” would air at 8 p.m. starting Monday. A rotation of Fox personalities will host the new program.
Carlson was a co-host for “Fox & Friends” from 2012 to 2016. He appeared on CNN earlier in his career and worked for MSNBC from 2005 to 2008.
Fox News subsequently lost nearly a billion dollars after its stock plummeted following the announcement, according to DC Enquirer.