Shares in Fox News’ parent company fell sharply after it announced Tucker Carlson was leaving the network with immediate effect on Monday.
Fox Corporation Class A shares dropped by four per cent soon to $31.86 after news of Mr Carlson’s firing broke after 11am ET, before recovering slightly to $32.60 by the time markets closed at 4pm.
Investors appeared rattled by the sudden removal of Fox News’ highest rating primetime host, who also hosts several shows each week on its streaming service Fox Nation.
Fox Corporation is listed on the Nasdaq, which fell by .29 percent on Tuesday.
The right-wing network said in a statement that it had “agreed to part ways” with Mr Carlson days after it agreed to pay $787.5m to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems.
“We thank him for his service as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the statement said.
According to the New York Times, Mr Carlson was informed his show was being axed on Monday morning.
Fox Corporation chair Rupert Murdoch personally made the decision to axe his most high-profile cable host, reportedly due to further revelations in a lawsuit filed by former Tucker Carlson Tonight producer Abby Grossberg, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The company is also facing a $2.7bn defamation lawsuit brought by the Smartmatic voting software company for allegedly spreading election lies.
