Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was shut down and left silent after her colleague reminded her she that she had taken the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Five host Jessica Tarlov, Fox News' token liberal, was discussing social media companies' content moderation policies and Covid-related misinformation during Tuesday's show. The story was driven by the newly cleared Pfizer and Moderna vaccine booster shots, and touched on the expected slew of misinformation likely to follow.
“We’re too far into this, for this kind of behaviour,” Tarlov said. “I think it’s really distressing, especially considering the fact that a majority of Gen-Zs go to social media for their information.”
She then referenced the collapse of Bronny James earlier this year. The NBA legend Lebron James’s son suffered a cardiac episode while practicing with the USC basketball team. Tarlov pointed out that conspiracy theorists immediately began blaming the vaccine for his ailment, even after the James family released a statement explaining what had occurred.
“But they also do need to figure out a system to stop people from spreading rumours, like when Bronny James, for instance, collapsed while playing basketball for USC,” she said. “Immediately, it was ‘It was because of the vaccine.’ It was not because of the vaccine, but that became the leading story.”
Tarlov continued, saying people needed to find a "safe middle ground where people know that the vaccine is safe for you but you don't —" but her comment was ultimately cut off when Pirro interjected with a skeptical sigh and an "oh."
"What do you mean?" Tarlov asked, clearly annoyed. "You're fine, you're vaccinated. What are you 'oh-ing'?"
Everyone else at the table — including Pirro — remained silent during the callout. The Fox cameras cut to Pirro, likely anticipating a response, but the former judge remained silent and looked away.
Tarlov eventually tried to hand the reins of the show back to Pirro, but she rejected and tossed the ball to co-host Greg Gutfeld.
In 2021, Pirro suggested that Joe Biden's door-to-door vaccine outreach programs were about "confiscating your gun."
"This week, Joe Biden said he will begin door-to-door outreach for COVID vaccinations. Think about that. The intrusion. The invasion of your privacy. Strange people coming to your door, asking how many people live in your home or apartment," Pirro said in July of 2021. "If you put the dots together, Joe Biden's irrational belief he can control the Second Amendment, along with his belief he can go door-to-door with Democrats' intentional refusal to fight crime, tells me there is an end game. It's not about votes. It's not only about registering your gun. It's about confiscating your gun."
Fox News' parent company, Fox Corporation, mandated in December 2021 that all employees working in New York City receive the vaccine. That mandate was later dropped.
