Right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson was fired from his prime-time Fox News hosting gig Monday morning, after nearly 14 years at the network. During that time, he made frequent appearances on and co-hosted several Fox shows before landing his own in 2016. From there, Carlson’s profile skyrocketed until he was the network’s most popular on-air personality. Every weeknight, he pushed conservative ideas, sometimes spreading baseless conspiracy theories, to millions of people.
Those conspiracy theories may have caught up to Carlson this week when Fox “parted ways” with him, just six days after the network settled a $787.5 million defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. It is still unclear why Fox pushed Carlson out, though media reports suggest that his ousting may be related to a recent lawsuit from former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who alleged that Carlson’s show fostered a toxic and misogynistic work environment. Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch also allegedly took issue with Carlson’s false claims that government agents helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
It has been nearly four days since Carlson signed off from the “Tucker Carlson Show” for the last time. He has not yet publicly commented on his firing.
Here are some numbers that defined his rise and fall.
2009: The year Carlson took his first gig at Fox News as a contributor. He had previously worked at CNN, PBS and MSNBC. While contributing to Fox, Carlson co-launched and helped run the right-wing political news site The Daily Caller.
11/14/2016: The date “Tucker Carlson Tonight” started airing on Fox. The show ran during the 7 p.m. slot for several months before replacing Megyn Kelly’s show in the 9 p.m. slot. In April 2017, Fox fired Bill O’Reilly for sexual misconduct. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” took over O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. slot.
3.2 million: The number of viewers Carlson reached on average every night during the first quarter of 2023. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was the most-watched cable news show in March.
1,116: The number of episodes of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that Carlson received writing credits for during its six-and-a-half-year run.
$30 million to $370 million: The net worth of Carlson, according to various estimates.
10: The number of episodes in which Carlson explicitly mentioned “replacement theory,” the baseless and racist conspiracy that Democratic elites are trying to replace white people through immigration. The New York Times analyzed more than 1,000 episodes of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” in April 2022 and found that Carlson had pushed the theory in more than 400 episodes.
70: The number of advertisers “Tucker Carlson Tonight” lost over the span of eight months, after Carlson opened his Dec. 13, 2018, show with the claim that immigration made the United States “poorer, dirtier and more divided.”
4/21/2023: The date of the last episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Carlson signed off Friday, telling his viewers, “We’ll be back Monday.” But that night, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott made the decision to fire Carlson. And on Monday morning, Carlson was notified of his dismissal, leaving him “blindsided.”
$20 million: The amount Carlson will be paid out every year for the rest of his contract.
$962 million: The amount in market value Fox Corp. lost in the immediate aftermath of Carlson’s firing. The company’s shares dropped 5% Monday from $33.75 though they recovered slightly by the end of the day. They were trading at roughly $32.50 a share as of Tuesday afternoon.
Poynter researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
