Secret Tucker Carlson Text That Triggered Dominion Settlement and His Termination

Ever since Fox News announced two weeks ago that it was parting ways with Tucker Carlson, its biggest star, speculation has raged about exactly which straw broke the network’s back. Was it the price tag to settle the Dominion lawsuit? The embarrassing texts in which Carlson privately disparaged Donald Trump even as he praised the president on the air? The video of Carlson mocking his own fans as “postmenopausal”? Still-unreleased texts in which he reportedly called a senior Fox executive a “c–t”? Rupert Murdoch’s dismay at the increasingly religious tone of Carlson’s commentary? Or (my preferred theory) some yet-to-be-disclosed act or statement pertaining to former Fox producer Abby Grossberg’s lawsuit charging Carlson and his team with “rampant” misogyny and antisemitism?

The latest explanation offered by the New York Times maintains that it was the revelation of a particular text sent by Carlson to one of his producers on Jan. 6, 2021, that set off a panic at the highest levels of Fox:

Tucker Carlson January 7, 2021 — 04:18:04 PM UTC

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living shit 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?

For years, Mr. Carlson espoused views on his show that amplified the ideology of white nationalism. But the text message revealed more about his views on racial superiority.  But this undisclosed text message alarmed the Fox board, which saw the message a day before Fox was set to defend itself against Dominion Voting Systems before a jury. The board grew concerned that the message could become public at trial when Mr. Carlson was on the stand, creating a sensational and damaging moment that would raise broader questions about the company.

The day after the discovery, the board told Fox executives it was bringing in an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into Mr. Carlson’s conduct.  The text message added to a growing number of internal issues involving Mr. Carlson that led the company’s leadership to conclude he was more of a problem than an asset and had to go, according to several people with knowledge of the decision. In other messages he had referred to women — including a senior Fox executive — in crude and misogynistic terms. The message about the fight also played a role in the company’s decision to settle with Dominion for $787.5 million, the highest known payout in a defamation case.