Tucker Carlson reportedly found out he was leaving Fox News just moments before it was announced on Monday, with him said to have been 'blindsided' by the news.
It was announced yesterday that the political commentator, 53, had "agreed to part ways" with FOX News Media after having hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight since 2016.
The network said: "FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor."
It revealed that his last show had aired on Friday (April 21), with Fox News Tonight airing in its slot at 8pm ET as an "interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities".
He seemingly wasn't aware of his exit during his final show, saying: "We'll be back on Monday. In the meantime, have the best weekend with the ones that you love."
And it has now been claimed that conservative commentator Tucker was only informed about his departure from Fox News shortly before it was announced.
Vanity Fair reports that he received a call yesterday morning from Suzanne Scott - the CEO of Fox News Media - who is said to have informed Tucker he was being taken off the air.
The outlet claims the talk show host was "blindsided" as a source added he was in the midst of negotiating the renewal of his Fox News contract through to 2029.
It has been reported by the Washington Post this week, though, that the decision to drop the presenter from the network had been made last week on Friday evening.
Tucker is said to have found out about his departure just 10 minutes before it was announced, according to the Wall Street Journal. The decision was reportedly made by Rupert Murdoch with input from senior Fox officials, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Fox News Media didn't provide a reason for Tucker's departure in its statement issued earlier this week.
Tucker - who had worked for networks such as CNN and PBS earlier in his broadcasting career - is understood to have joined Fox News as a contributor back in 2009.
He appeared on several shows broadcast by the network and later featured as a weekend co-host on its morning news programme Fox & Friends from around 2012 until 2016.
His own talk show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, launched in 2016 and it proved popular with audiences over the years, including reportedly averaging 5.4 million nightly viewers in October 2020.
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