Tucker Carlson's combativeness toward Fox executives and other colleagues led the network to announce on Monday that it was parting ways with him, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In a cache of emails and texts made public as a result of Dominion Voting System's defamation lawsuit against Fox, Carlson expressed disdain for management and coworkers; people familiar with the matter told the Journal that those private messages were a major contributing factor to the decision.
Though redactions run through many of the Dominion court documents, there is concern among executives at Fox News parent Fox Corp. that the company would suffer further embarrassment if the redacted material were made public.
In its suit, the voting-machine company accused Fox networks of promoting false claims that Dominion helped fix the 2020 presidential election for President Joe Biden. Fox Corp. settled the dispute last week by agreeing to pay $787.5 million.
According to the Journal, management had misgivings about the risks Carlson presented for Fox, and there were concerns that the conservative firebrand thought himself bigger than the network and was functioning more and more as an island.
The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp., a public company whose controlling shareholder is Rupert Murdoch, whose family also controls Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News.
Industry insiders suggest the Wall Street Journal report about Carlson had to be approved by the Murdochs before being published.
According to people familiar with the matter and court filings in the Dominion case, the relationship between Carlson and Fox management deteriorated in recent years to the point that former Trump aide Raj Shah was appointed as his internal advocate and served as the go-between for Carlson and Fox's communications department.
Sources familiar with Fox News told the Journal that, within the company, Carlson has increasingly been seen as unmanageable, and legal documents show he didn't shrink from steamrolling over those he disagreed with.
Inside the network, there was also a perception that Carlson viewed himself as untouchable, and the Dominion filings teem with examples of him denigrating colleagues, the Journal reports.
Carlson's downward spiral reportedly occurred quickly, as he dined with Rupert Murdoch and Murdoch's then-fiancée, Ann Lesley Smith, in Bel Air, California, just a few weeks ago, people familiar with the gathering said.
Though Carlson had bonded with Rupert Murdoch's son, Fox Corp. Executive Chair Lachlan Murdoch, over the outdoors and conservative politics, the younger Murdoch ultimately made the decision to oust Carlson, in consultation with Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott.
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