Carlson’s last show was on Friday. «Fox News Tonight» will air at 8 p.m. EST, formerly the «Tucker Carlson Tonight» slot, beginning Monday as an «interim show run by rotating FOX News personalities until a new anchor is named.»
Lemon was fierce in his response to being kicked out, stating on Twitter that he was «stunned» the network fired him.
“At no time did they give me any indication that I would not be able to continue doing the job that I loved at the network. It is clear that there are some bigger issues at stake,” she wrote.
However, CNN, in a tweet, said Lemon’s statement is «inaccurate» and that «he was offered the opportunity to meet with management, but posted a statement on Twitter instead.»
The outings come before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, scheduled for Saturday. Attended by presidents of both parties for decades, the annual event celebrates the First Amendment and honors journalists. The headliner often takes the stage to host the traditional WHCA dinner roast. This year’s headliner, Roy Wood Jr., said that He already threw out his script after the departures of Lemon and Carlson.
Both presenters have faced their fair share of controversy in recent months before their departure on Monday.
Lemon, who had worked at CNN for 17 years, said on the air in February that presidential hopeful Nikki Haley «isn’t at her best» and that a woman is «at her best in her 20s, 30s and 40s.» She later apologized for her comments on Twitter and did not appear on «CNN This Morning» the next day.
Earlier this month, Variety published a report alleging that Lemon made other offensive comments about women on air in the past and alleged inappropriate behavior towards his female colleagues at CNN.
News of Carlson’s departure came a week after Fox News settled Dominion Voting Systems’ $787.5 million defamation lawsuit. Carlson, along with hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, privately mocked regular guests such as Donald Trump’s lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell while continuing to promote conspiracy theories to their audience.
Last month, the White House joined in the widespread condemnation of Carlson, singling him out for his misleading depiction of the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The revelations were made public as part of the lawsuit from Dominion.
Former “Tucker Carlson Tonight” producer Abby Grossberg is also suing the network after claiming she was illegally fired in retaliation.
Carlson first joined Fox News as a contributor in 2009, and in 2017, Carlson took over the network’s 8 p.m. hour after Bill O’Reilly was ousted. Carlson was one of the most-watched anchors on the cable news network, with an average audience of 3.2 million viewers.
On Monday morning, Fox News was still watching a preview of Carlson’s show, ahead of an interview with presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy that would air Monday night.
Fox News host Harris Faulkner addressed Tucker Carlson’s departure Monday by saying, «We have some news within our Fox family. Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have mutually agreed to part ways.»
Politicians, as well as former and current television presenters, were quick to react to the news of the departures.
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, who left the network in 2017, said the news was «good for Tucker.»
«Trust me, he doesn’t need them», Kelly he said in a tweet.
Fox presenter Sean Hannity posted on Twitter«*LATER LEMON!*» but did not address Carlson’s departure.
“Good news: ‘The Dumbest Man on TV,’ Don Lemon, has finally been fired from Fake News CNN,” former President Donald Trump said on Truth Social. «My only question is, WHAT TAKEN YOU SO LONG?» Trump posted on Truth Social.
And in a tweet, Russian-backed English-language news outlet RT News appeared to offer Carlson a job.
«Hey @TuckerCarlsonyou can always ask more with @RT_com”, wrote RT News.