Late yesterday evening, likable, partially-eyebrowed, science-following never-Trumper Brian Kilmeade chippily hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight, which was suddenly and unexpectedly renamed Fox News Tonight, instead of that despicable anti-science anti-vaxxer, the election-denying, insurrection-denying, Putin-loving, transphobic Tucker Carlson, who was nowhere to be seen, because he’d suddenly and unexpectedly got his pink slip a few hours earlier, in a spangly rainbow-colored envelope.

And just like that, the instant HR clicked the “send” pixels on Tucker’s notice email, the entire Fox News Network’s background testosterone levels dropped by 90%, immediately causing the handful of remaining men to feel their shirts tightening from creeping gynecomastia.

Sometimes I try to imagine the difficult conversations. “Brian, so what are you doing tonight at 8pm? You free?” One has to imagine Kilmeade wasn’t exactly elated over the surprise career opportunity, knowing that literally millions of seething Tucker fans would be watching, grinding their teeth, and sinfully wishing him to have an on-air vaccine coincidence.

In fact, Kilmeade started the show by gliding past the news of Tucker’s firing going about 90 mph. It was so fast the DC Enquirer included that fact in its headline: “WATCH: Brian Kilmeade Fills In For Tucker, Glosses Over Carlson’s Departure From Fox News.”

Hot takes have flooded the Internet airwaves. The real reason for Carlson’s firing, whatever it is, lies buried under two metric tons of speculative cow patties. Nobody really knows. Tucker isn’t talking, and probably shouldn’t until he calms down. Fox isn’t talking, and probably shouldn’t so they don’t give Tucker any excuse to sue them.

After all, Fox JUST stroked a check to Dominion for almost $800 million dollars in what looked from the outside to be an un-loseable lawsuit.

Two highly-suggestive things happened in the days before Tucker got his notice. The first was Fox’s announcement of the Dominion settlement, which must have stung. Consider this, from a jaded lawyer’s imagination: what if the reason they were forced to settle was something dumb Tucker said in an email or text message that came out in discovery? The Murdoch boys could’ve been saying to themselves, this $35 million-a-year joker just cost us $800 million bucks, which would’ve paid for another super-yacht.

To be clear: I have no reason whatsoever to believe that, except I’ve seen that kind of thing happen in lawsuit after lawsuit. But it’s just a wild guess.

The other thing that happened — again, mere days preceding termination — was Tucker took it to pharma over the vaccines in his strongest tirade yet, calling them dangerous and ineffective, and accused the other networks of shilling for the deadly snake oil. I note without further comment that, days after James O’Keefe ran his own Pfizer exposé, Project Veritas ritualistically slaughtered its golden goose JUST LIKE Fox News has now done to its prime time lineup.

The similarities are remarkable.

I am starting to think that we, the people, the citizens of this once-great Nation, may have to quit Waiting for Superman and take it upon ourselves to dismantle Big Pharma. If we can boycott the biggest beer brand in America (Bud Light) because of a silly transvestite label, we should be able to delete the largest pharmaceutical firms in the country because of the mountains of corpses of our friends and relatives.

In future posts I will further develop this theme, believe me. So stay tuned. This aggression will not stand, to quote The Dude, who himself was quoting terrific anti-communist and deep-state whipping-boy Richard Milhous Nixon.

Anyway, don’t count Tucker out. Consider his universe of options, now that he’s been unshackled from his Fox contracts and his demanding 8pm nightly time slot. What would it look like if Tucker and O’Keefe paired up? Or imagine Tucker joining the Republican ticket as say, somebody’s Vice President? Or running for Senate somewhere? Or joined the growing Daily Wire team? Or if he did something completely new, like pal’d up with Elon Musk to anchor a Twitter-based news network?

Elon is already working on something similar.

When God closes the door, he opens a window. Tucker’s opportunities are limitless. We will watch his future career with great interest.

And finally, I hate to stir the pot, but it is worth noting that Blackrock/Vanguard own substantial parts of both Fox and Dominion (through State Street). The unearned $800 million in voluntary settlement payments will be extremely helpful to Dominion going into the 2024 elections, don’t you think? Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com...ack&utm_medium=email

So Bannon said it this morning. Tucker has a few more years on his contract. The Murdochs took Tucker off and will pay his contract. What that means they are going to silence Tucker he won’t be able to go anywhere else. Like they did with Lou Dobbs. It’s all about removing any Apposing voice to their agenda.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ozarkwoods,

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
So Brannon said it this morning. Tucker has a few more years on his contract. The Murdochs took Tucker off and will pay his contract. What that means they are going to silence Tucker he won’t be able to go anywhere else. Like they did with Lou Dobbs. It’s all about removing any Apposing voice to their agenda.

Can't he just do his own thing?

Or Tucker could just tell the Murdochs to shove that contract up their asses and forfeit the remaining money, no? After all, he'd have no problem making more on his own. I'd assume he has a non-compete clause, but if they fired him, I don't see how that would be enforceable.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by BlackTalonJHP:
I don't have cable or Fox News. Who was on in Tucker's slot tonight?

Brian Kilmeade

And he's turned into a real milk toast

I’m very surprised nothing has been heard from Tucker yet. You’d think he would have something to say, one way or another. I’d also be surprised if we doesn’t immediately announce a lawsuit against Fox for his firing (if that’s what happened).

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
So Brannon said it this morning. Tucker has a few more years on his contract. The Murdochs took Tucker off and will pay his contract. What that means they are going to silence Tucker he won’t be able to go anywhere else. Like they did with Lou Dobbs. It’s all about removing any Apposing voice to their agenda.

Can't he just do his own thing?

Or Tucker could just tell the Murdochs to shove that contract up their asses and forfeit the remaining money, no? After all, he'd have no problem making more on his own. I'd assume he has a non-compete clause, but if they fired him, I don't see how that would be enforceable.

It boils down to what was in the contract and how they took him off the air. Lou Dobbs was not allowed to go else where until his contract expired.

Some background I have not seen elsewhere from The Wall Street Journal:
===============

Carlson Ousted at Fox News After Dominion Disclosures

By Joe Flint, Isabella Simonetti and Keach Hagey

Fox News parted ways with prime-time host Tucker Carl-son, a surprising move that comes after he made disparaging remarks about colleagues at the network that were disclosed during a legal battle with a voting- machine company.

Mr. Carlson’s departure puts an end to a decade-plus tenure at the conservative news network during which he rose to become the highest-rated host in prime-time cable news.

Mr. Carlson, whose contract was renewed in 2021, will be paid out for the rest of his contract, people familiar with the matter said. He is paid about $20 million a year, one of the people said. Mr. Carlson found out he was being let go about 10 minutes before the network announced his departure, the people said.

Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox News parent Fox Corp., and Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott decided Mr. Carlson would leave the network on Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The exit creates another high-profile opening in a cable news landscape where familiar faces have been leaving over the past year and a half. Also Monday, CNN parted ways with Don Lemon, who had left his 10 p.m. prime-time perch to co-anchor the network’s new morning show, a move that has failed to generate strong ratings.

Fox News on Monday said Mr. Carlson’s last show was on Friday, and said it would rely on a rotation of hosts until it names a permanent anchor for the 8 p.m. program.

Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade anchored the show Monday night. In opening remarks, Mr. Kilmeade said he was “great friends with Tucker.”

A lawyer representing Mr. Carlson didn’t respond to a request to comment.

Fox’s decision to let Mr. Carlson go comes less than a week after Fox Corp. agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle its legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems, which had accused Fox’s news networks of airing false claims by hosts and guests that Dominion helped rig the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of Joe Biden. Mr. Carlson had been expected to testify during the trial.

Fox Corp. and News Corp, the parent of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, share common ownership. Fox shares fell 3% Monday.

Private messages sent by Mr. Carlson to colleagues were made public in the legal proceedings of the Dominion defamation suit. In some, Mr. Carlson mocked claims made on air by guests, said he hated former President Donald Trump, and complained about colleagues and Fox executives.

“Do the executives understand how much credibility and trust we’ve lost with our audience?” Mr. Carlson wrote in a text message to a colleague in the aftermath of the election, according to court documents. “We’re playing with fire, for real.”

Fox took issue with remarks Mr. Carlson made that were derogatory toward the network, people familiar with the matter said. Much of the communications were redacted in court documents but became known internally to senior Fox management, they said.

Mr. Carlson also complained to a colleague when a Fox News reporter fact-checked one of Mr. Trump’s tweets that mentioned Dominion: “Please get her fired,” Mr. Carlson told fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity, according to a court filing. “It’s measurably hurting the company.”

Before the Dominion suit was settled, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had already concluded that Fox News and Fox Business did in fact broadcast false claims about Dominion, voiced by both network hosts and Trump associates. In a statement announcing the settlement, Fox acknowledged the judge’s findings.

Court documents also revealed Mr. Carlson’s feelings about Mr. Trump. In a text message exchange from January 2021, Mr. Carlson said the network was “very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” and said, “I hate him passionately,” referring to the former president.

A recent Wall Street Journal poll found that Mr. Trump is the front-runner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Mr. Carlson recently drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for airing a segment that showed previously unaired footage of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Carlson said that lawmakers had intentionally overstated the violence.

Mr. Carlson is a defendant in a lawsuit filed last month by Abby Grossberg, a former producer for Mr. Carlson and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. The suit, which also names Fox and other individuals, said that “Mr. Carlson’s derogatory comments towards women, and his disdain for those who dare to object to such misogyny, is well known on the set” of his show. Fox News fired Ms. Grossberg shortly afterward, saying she filed her complaint without taking steps to protect “portions containing Fox’s privileged information.” Ms. Grossberg’s lawyers described her firing as retaliatory.

In a statement following news of Mr. Carlson’s ouster, Ms. Grossberg’s lawyers said: “Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News is, in part, an admission of the systemic lying, bullying, and conspiracy-mongering claimed by our client.”

Mr. Carlson had no comment on the suit. Fox at the time said it hired independent outside counsel to investigate the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg.

Mr. Carlson rose to national prominence as the co-host of the CNN show “Crossfire,” where he represented the political right until the show’s cancellation in 2005. He also had a stint on MSNBC and cofounded the conservative site the Daily Caller.

Mr. Carlson joined the prime-time lineup at Fox News in 2017, and went on to become the highest-rated prime-time host in cable news. Prime-time shows get the biggest share of the audience for Fox and other cable channels, and are a key driver of Fox’s ad business.

On prime time, Mr. Carlson became a lightning rod for frequently making controversial remarks. In a recent show, Mr. Carlson suggested that Justin Pearson, one of the Tennessee lawmakers protesting for stricter gun control, probably got into an elite college because he was a Black man.

In 2018, Mr. Carlson faced an advertising boycott after saying on air that certain immigrants were making the U.S. “dirtier and more divided.” Fox blamed the boycott on advocacy groups.

Besides his nightly presence on Fox News, Mr. Carlson has also been prominent on Fox Nation, the channel’s direct-to-streaming service.

LINK

^^^Well, the title of that article is accurate...

I've got serious doubts there that was ANY connection whatsoever to the 'disclosures' re: Dominion settlement though. None of those messages/remarks would be considered any 'real' justification for Fox to remove Tucker Carlson anyway.

But, but, ummm, doesn't News Corp own WSJ and Fox News?

That would all but make this the equivalent of Fox putting out a press release...

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
But, but, ummm, doesn't News Corp own WSJ and Fox News?

That would all but make this the equivalent of Fox putting out a press release...

Exactly what I was going to write. They are attempting to put their spin on what happened.

quote:

Mr. Carlson joined the prime-time lineup at Fox News in 2017, and went on to become the highest-rated prime-time host in cable news. Prime-time shows get the biggest share of the audience for Fox ...

On prime time, Mr. Carlson became a lightning rod for frequently making controversial remarks.

Yes, and how did he become the highest-rated prime-time host in cable news?
It's because he was willing to say what he believed, even if it went against the narrative his employer was pushing.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

quote:

Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Well, I'm bummed by the loss of Bongino and Carlson on Fox News. I can't get OANN on my cable and it's too uncomfortable to watch news on my computer. I don't subscribe to any Internet news sources, but I do frequent SF. Thanks, Para.

flashguy

If you have a smart tv and access to the internet. I subscribe to KlowdTV you can get OAN

I've no idea how "smart" my TV is. It's a 40" LED bought a couple of years ago.

flashguy

Do you have a laptop? You should be able to run a cable from a laptop to one of your TV's HDMI inputs and watch the internet on your TV.
Get a cable long enough to reach your recliner so you can don't have to get up to change what you’re watching.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Yes, and how did he become the highest-rated prime-time host in cable news?
It's because he was willing to say what he believed, even if it went against the narrative his employer was pushing.

This piece makes the argument Tucker was fired for eventually waking up to what was going on in America, he was "red pilled". At the start, he was OK with the Covid vaccine, he was somewhat anti-Trump, etc. In recent times, his views have evolved to something more cynical, more critical of the American Establishment.

quote:

During Tucker’s red pill absorption phase, he changed views on a variety of subjects from the FBI to the Fourth Branch of Government, to vaccination and COVID-19, to his views on Donald Trump as a disruption to an increasingly admitted corrupt political machine.

Context in the Tucker worldview expanded and he began to frame the conflict in a big picture of Good -vs- Evil. Unfortunately for Carlson, this view was from inside a multinational corporate system spreading the darkness. He had to be removed.

This is the reality of the situation as it unfolded. Accept it or not, it matters not. This is the Carlson reality.

Carlson was connecting the dots of manipulation beyond media, beyond social battles and constructs, and into the realm of finance, economics and ultimately behind the Potemkin Village of UniParty politics. Blackrock has an increased stake in Fox Corp.

Talking about what happens behind the false front of the DC village is always a threat. It is in the research and acceptance of the darkest pretending constructs that you realize how the illusions of choice are presented.

Tucker Carlson was no longer selling the illusions.

There are trillions at stake.

He was removed.

https://theconservativetreehou...ker-carlsons-firing/

Tucker will continue to be paid his annual $20,000,000 for the duration of his contract. He'll be OK.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
^^^Well, the title of that article is accurate...

I've got serious doubts there that was ANY connection whatsoever to the 'disclosures' re: Dominion settlement though. None of those messages/remarks would be considered any 'real' justification for Fox to remove Tucker Carlson anyway.

It had nothing to do with the Dominion suit.

From Conservative Treehouse

https://theconservativetreehou...ker-carlsons-firing/

Thoughts on Tucker Carlson’s Firing
FTA:

For financial context, remember Rupert Murdoch paid Megyn Kelly $15 million (Via Harper Collins) for the 2015/2016 operation against Donald Trump. Paying $60 to $100 million to get rid of Carlson’s antagonistic voice is small money to Murdoch Inc. in the grand scheme of things. [Murdoch has also paid for Ron DeSantis to oppose Trump]

Carlson will not be asked to sign an NDA, is not bound by a “non-compete” clause following the contract nullification by Fox Corp, and will be free to do anything he wants in any venture. Additionally, he will be free to say whatever he wants about the issues at Fox and speak freely, or not, without any legal or contractual constraints. Keep all of that in mind.

Prior to 2021, Tucker Carlson was what you might call a Fox News loyalist. He was very loyal to the organization. During the COVID-19 era, Tucker Carlson moved his physical location away from Washington DC to his home in Maine. Fox built him a studio, and Carlson manifest his own destiny free from most production constraints.

Over the past 18+/- months, viewers have watched Tucker Carlson essentially red pill himself each evening. As he enjoyed the proximity freedom far away from the Eye of Sauron (DC’s control mechanism), Carlson’s eyes opened further to the reality of the situation that blankets our national consciousness.

Disconnected from the machine, free-range in his abilities, and with the intellectual curiosity of the average person, Tucker Carlson started to see the U.S. system as it is, not as media pretend it to be. This is the increasing red pill absorption you have noted daily. Along with that came a more pragmatic and brutally honest production quality to the content he shared...

It seems Fox News has lost $1 Billion in a day:

quote:

Originally posted by sse:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by BlackTalonJHP:
I don't have cable or Fox News. Who was on in Tucker's slot tonight?

Brian Kilmeade

And he's turned into a real milk toast

You may be aware of more about Kilmeade than I, not watching the shows he’s been on, but he wasn’t doing news and commentary last night. BTW, shut it off after his opening statement about Carlson.

quote:
Originally posted by Ozarkwoods:
quote:
Originally posted by flashguy:
Well, I'm bummed by the loss of Bongino and Carlson on Fox News. I can't get OANN on my cable and it's too uncomfortable to watch news on my computer. I don't subscribe to any Internet news sources, but I do frequent SF. Thanks, Para.

flashguy

quote:

I've no idea how "smart" my TV is. It's a 40" LED bought a couple of years ago.

If your tv is only a couple years old, it should be a “smart tv.” Assuming you have wifi in the house you can play all sorts of things on your tv, without a hard wire to a computer.

ooooo, could this be Fox News Butt Light moment?


Link

Angry Fans Follow Tucker Carlson Out the Door as They Start Canceling Their Fox Nation Subscriptions

https://www.breitbart.com/pre-...after-their-ousters/

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former CNN anchor Don Lemon hired the same lawyer to navigate their departures from their respective cable television channels.

Reports say Los Angeles, California-based attorney Bryan Freedom is representing both Carlson and Lemon. Freedom has reportedly favorable breakup terms for hosts before, including Megyn Kelly’s departure from NBC News in 2019 and the “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison in 2021.