It happened on a Monday morning in April 2023. No fanfare. No "final show" montage. Just a brief, cold statement from Fox News saying they had "agreed to part ways" with their biggest star.
Tucker Carlson was the king of cable. He brought in millions of viewers every night, making him seemingly untouchable. Then, suddenly, he was gone.
The fallout was messy. People had theories immediately. Some blamed the Dominion lawsuit, others pointed to internal power struggles, and some thought it was a "woke" coup. Honestly, the truth is a bit of all of those things—plus a few details that only came out months later.
Why was Tucker Carlson fired from Fox?
The short answer is that there wasn't just one "smoking gun." It was a pile-up of legal liabilities, personal insults directed at management, and a growing sense that Tucker thought he was bigger than the network itself.
When you're the most-watched man on television, you get a certain level of ego. But at Fox, the Murdochs—Rupert and Lachlan—run the show. They don't like it when the talent starts acting like the boss.
The Dominion Lawsuit and Those Text Messages
The timing was suspicious. Tucker was ousted just days after Fox News settled a massive defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million. While Fox officially says the two events weren't linked, nobody really believes that.
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During the discovery phase of that trial, a mountain of Tucker’s private texts went public. They were... revealing.
- He hated Trump (privately): One text famously said, "I hate him passionately." This was a huge problem for a network that survives on the loyalty of the MAGA base.
- The "How White Men Fight" Text: There was a specific message where Tucker described watching a video of a group of Trump supporters jumping an Antifa kid. He wrote about his internal conflict, saying that swarming someone isn't "how white men fight." Fox executives reportedly found the racial undertones of that message deeply disturbing.
- Insulting the Brass: He didn't just go after politicians. He called Fox executives "c***s" and other derogatory terms. You can be a jerk to the competition, but being a jerk to the people who sign your checks is a quick way to find the exit.
The Abby Grossberg Factor
While everyone was focused on Dominion, another legal storm was brewing. Abby Grossberg, a former senior booking producer for Tucker Carlson Tonight, filed a lawsuit alleging a "toxic" and "misogynistic" work environment.
She described an office where photos of Nancy Pelosi in a bikini were used as "humor" and where female employees were routinely belittled. Grossberg also claimed that Fox lawyers pressured her to give misleading testimony in the Dominion case to protect the network's stars.
Fox eventually settled with her for $12 million. For a company already reeling from the Dominion payout, Tucker had become a legal radioactive zone.
The Murdoch Factor: "Too Big for His Boots"
Rupert Murdoch has a history of cutting ties with stars who become too powerful. Think Bill O'Reilly or Roger Ailes.
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According to Brian Stelter’s book Network of Lies, Rupert Murdoch told confidants that Tucker "got too big for his boots." Tucker wasn't just doing a news show; he was trying to shape GOP policy and even influenced international relations, like his controversial stances on Ukraine and his trips to meet with Viktor Orbán in Hungary.
Basically, he stopped being a "team player." He was running his own shadow operation within the network. When his ratings no longer outweighed the legal headaches and the personal insults, Lachlan Murdoch made the call to pull the plug.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Firing
A lot of fans think Tucker was fired because he "told the truth" about Jan 6 or the 2020 election. The irony? His private texts showed he actually doubted many of the conspiracy theories he allowed on his show.
He called Sidney Powell’s election fraud claims "absurd" and "insane" in private, even while giving them airtime. He wasn't fired for being a truth-teller; if anything, he was fired because his internal contradictions became a billion-dollar legal liability.
Impact on Fox News
Since he left, Fox's ratings in the 8 p.m. slot took a hit initially, but they've mostly recovered with Jesse Watters. The network proved what it always believed: the "Fox" brand is stronger than any individual host.
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Tucker, meanwhile, moved to X (formerly Twitter) and started his own media company. He’s still loud, still controversial, but he’s no longer the guy in the living rooms of 3 million people every single weeknight.
Actionable Takeaways from the Tucker Saga
If you're following this story for more than just the drama, there are a few real-world lessons here about the media landscape:
- Digital Footprints are Permanent: Tucker’s private texts were his undoing. Whether you're a cable news star or an office manager, don't put anything in a text that you wouldn't want read aloud in a courtroom.
- No One is Irreplaceable: Fox News showed that even the highest-rated host in cable history can be replaced. In corporate environments, the "brand" almost always wins over the individual.
- The High Cost of "Extreme" Content: There is a fine line between "provocative" and "legally dangerous." When your content starts costing the company hundreds of millions in legal settlements, your value proposition disappears.
The story of why Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox is really a story about the limits of power in modern media. He pushed the envelope until the envelope pushed back.
To stay updated on these shifts, pay attention to the ongoing Smartmatic lawsuit against Fox. It’s the next big legal hurdle that could reveal even more about how these decisions are made behind closed doors. Keeping an eye on court filings is often more reliable than watching the actual news broadcasts.