Fox News announced on Monday that it has ended its 14-year relationship with Tucker Carlson, its highest-rated and most-watched host. The departure came as a surprise, given Carlson’s popularity and viewership. In his last broadcast on April 21, Carlson promised his viewers that he would return to the show on Monday.
While the reasons for the split have not been disclosed, Carlson’s anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry has been the source of much controversy over the years. His departure from Fox News is not likely to diminish his reputation for promoting hateful and discriminatory views against the LGBTQ+ community.
One of the most disturbing examples of Carlson’s bigotry occurred in 1991 when he listed himself as a member of the “Dan White Society” and the “Jesse Helms Foundation” in his college yearbook. White was the assassin of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California. Helms was a senator from North Carolina known for his racism and virulent opposition to gay rights.
In addition to his association with these groups, Carlson has made numerous derogatory comments about the LGBTQ+ community. He has proudly boasted about beating up a gay man in a public bathroom, called trans children “grotesque” and a “nationwide epidemic,” and compared all trans individuals to horses.
Carlson has also put out a hit list of gender-affirming doctors and encouraged violence against pro-LGBTQ+ allies. He has attacked LGBTQ+ politicians, including openly gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and out transgender Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, Admiral Rachel Levine.
Although Fox News’s lawyers argued in a 2020 slander case that Carlson is not a journalist and his words should not be taken as factual pronouncements, his hateful rhetoric has been widely disseminated and consumed. His departure from Fox News is a welcome development for many who have been appalled by his views.
In a tweet, Public Citizen President Robert Weissman called Carlson’s departure “flat-out great news.” It remains to be seen what Carlson’s future holds, but his departure from Fox News is a small victory in the fight against hate speech and bigotry.
