This is bad. Really, really bad.
And although he seemed to eventually catch himself, perhaps the damage had been done.
In the wake of Fox News’s $787.5 million defamation lawsuit settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, Tucker Carlson, the most watched, most controversial “news” commentator was fired.
Fox News parted ways with Carlson after evidence proved he knowingly mislead his audience about the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.
… And let’s not forget, there’s even another potentially larger lawsuit coming.
We can safely surmise Tucker’s deliberate lies played a role in his demise at Fox. However, was there something else that sealed his fate?
According to a report by The New York Times, a text message sent by Tucker Carlson on the eve of the Dominion defamation trial seemed to show the right-wing cable host enjoying the beating of an Antifa protester by three Trump supporters. And it’s believed these are the messages that ultimately led to Carlson’s firing.
The text message was sent to one of Carlson’s producers in the hours after the insurrection on January 6, 2021. The content of the message suggests that Carlson seemed to take pleasure in the violent attack on an Antifa protester by three Trump supporters.
The texts are part of redacted – but public – court files obtained by The New York Times.
“A couple of weeks ago, I was watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington,” Carlson’s text message said.
“A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living sh*t out of him. It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight.”
“Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.”
“Then somewhere deep in my brain, an alarm went off: this isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be. The Antifa creep is a human being. Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him, I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I should be bothered by it. I should remember that somewhere somebody probably loves this kid, and would be crushed if he was killed. If I don’t care about those things, if I reduce people to their politics, how am I better than he is?”
Too little, too late for all of that.
So, who cares if your neighbor wished physical harm to an innocent kid, right?
Odds are your neighbor wasn’t the face of a large cable “news” network. Odds are, your neighbor hasn’t made a career of labeling others violent and mean-spirited. And odds are, your neighbor, unlike Tucker, isn’t supposed to be above that kind of trash talk.
Even if you’re Tucker’s biggest fan, if you’re a Fox News advertiser or a sponsor of their flagship programming you surely would have considered pulling the plug on that deal even if for business reasons only.
And if you’re a Fox News executive, how, in good faith, could you allow someone like that to continue being the face of your channel?
“Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.”
Tucker wanted them to kill someone he referenced as a “kid?”
What about free speech?
And, absolutely, Carlson has free speech. But advertisers also have the freedom to sponsor who they please. Combine his election lies with those texts and it’s pretty clear that some would have considered bowing out. Keep in mind that Fox, unlike NewsMax, is a mainstream national broadcasting company whose programming stretches beyond Fox News and appeals to more than just right-wing conservatives.
Fox News had no choice but to part ways with Carlson. His lies were embarrassing to the company and may eventually cost Fox upwards of $2 billion while his poisonous texts about enjoying the violent assault of a “kid” would have had at least a few advertisers reconsidering their agreement with the “news” channel if not Fox broadcasting in general.
Throughout all of this, the election lies, his two-faced backstabbing, pro-Russian propaganda, racism, and alleged lust for street violence, the real Tucker Carlson has been revealed… And many aren’t surprised a bit.
Source of texts: The New York Times