Last month, Fox News decided to “part ways” with host Tucker Carlson, cable television’s most-watched solo host. At the time, Fox had recently settled a $787.5 million lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.
And the network has gone to great lengths to leave Carlson out of its future, according to a new report.
On Sunday, Fox News employees anonymously told a Spectator columnist that they’d been banned from saying Carlson’s first name on air.
The columnist, Chadwick Moore, has touted his proximity to Carlson. He appeared as a guest on the final episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, and he’s been promoting his upcoming biography of Carlson.
He’s criticized Fox News Channel’s internal policies in the past. He says that Fox canceled his spot on Gutfeld! as part of a policy against promoting books from any publishing house other than the network’s parent company. Later, he said that Fox News reversed the policy.
One person asked Moore on Twitter, “And how do the on-air talent feel about being censored.”
In the past, some pundits have doubted Moore’s reporting on Fox News.
Moore replied, “They’re anyones dog for a bone.”
Take a look —
Fox News employees have told me privately that all on-air talent have been banned from saying the name “Tucker” on air.
— Chadwick Moore (@Chadwick_Moore) May 29, 2023
However, some conservatives have questioned Moore’s past reporting on Fox’s internal policies.
On Twitter, Moore has cited anonymous sources claiming that Carlson was fired as a condition of Dominion’s lawsuit against the network. However, some conservatives remain skeptical of Moore’s report, and Dominion denies it outright.
“I don’t know how Moore would know this,” SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News employee, said earlier this month. “I really don’t, unless he’s talking to [the owner of Fox’s parent company]. Tucker doesn’t know this, and Tucker’s lawyer doesn’t know what the reason is.”
Kelly continued, “If this is true, that this was a deal between Fox and Dominion, a very small circle of people would know… What are the odds that any one of those people is talking to Chadwick Moore? It’s very slim.”
Plus, critics have implied that Moore stands to benefit from fomenting intrigue to sell books.
“All of a sudden, this book is being rushed to press,” a guest told Kelly.
Take a look —
Hi @megynkelly! For clarity, my book isn't an authorized biography. I'm an independent biographer who was granted unprecedented access to Tucker over a year ago. He hasn't seen a word of it, nor has he asked to. And no, the book wasn't "rushed to press." Happy to discuss on your… pic.twitter.com/GRD5bza0qG
— Chadwick Moore (@Chadwick_Moore) May 23, 2023
The Horn editorial team