Longtime Fox News personality Laura Ingraham has not been fired from the network despite the allegations that have been circulating on social media.
On Wednesday night, Fox News released a statement blasting “left-wing activists” who asserted on Twitter that the network intended to fire Laura Ingraham, a longtime host of Fox News. Ingraham’s program has been broadcast on Fox News for a long time.
Fox News responded to the rumors in a statement published by Mediaite: “Reports based on various tweets by left-wing activists are wildly inaccurate – Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the Fox News lineup.”
After conservative news aggregator Matt Drudge broke a story describing how Fox News will make a significant shake-up following Tucker Carlson’s resignation from the network on Wednesday afternoon, Ingraham’s name started to circulate.
Drudge claims that the network will relocate veteran host Sean Hannity to the 8 p.m. time slot.
“WORLD EXCLUSIVE: FOXNEWS SETS NEW SCHEDULE” read the headline from Drudge, who noted Hannity’s new time slot as well as reports that both Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld would be heading to prime time.
“Watters currently hosts one of Fox’s top-rated shows at 7 p.m. while Gutfeld hosts a highly-rated late-night show at 11 p.m. — both co-host Fox’s top-rated program The Five at 5 p.m. Hannity, meanwhile, broke the record for longest-running cable news prime time host in April of 2022, eclipsing Larry King at 25 years, six months, and 15 days,” Mediaite reported.
“FOXNEWS is preparing to announce an ambitious new schedule, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, a schedule where ever hour of primetime will change!” Drudge reported. “TOP SOURCE TELLS DRUDGE: ‘IT’S OUR BOLDEST AND MOST FEARLESS LINE-UP EVER’…”
Regarding Drudge’s allegation, a Fox News representative tells Mediaite: “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration.”
UPDATE: Fox has released a new statement:
“Reports based on various tweets by left wing activists are wildly inaccurate – Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the Fox News lineup."
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— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) May 17, 2023
A recent story seems to provide more information about the decision Fox News made to remove its biggest personality from the air late last month.
Tucker Carlson was informed by network executives that he was being fired as part of Fox News’ significant $787.5 million defamation deal with Dominion Voting Systems, according to a story by RadarOnline.com.
“In the latest development to come three weeks after Carlson was removed from his role at the network on April 24, it has been reported that one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members was the one to tell the fired host that his ‘recent benching’ was the result of the secret condition in the Dominion settlement,” the outlet reported.
The report went on to say: “According to Variety, the conversation between Carlson and the board member took place on April 26 – two days after the network announced Carlson’s involuntary departure from the company. The board member also reportedly told Carlson that the secret condition ensuring Carlson’s canning would not be found in any of the $787.5 million defamation settlement documents because it was a verbal agreement.”
According to Dominion’s lawyers, if the network would not accept those conditions, the firm was ready to renegotiate the payout, take the issue to trial, or cancel the settlement altogether, RadarOnline.com reported.
“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” a source familiar with the reported secret agreement told Variety. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working.”
RadarOnline.com, however, noted that representatives from the company that makes voting technology refuted the existence of any covert agreement. Dominion sent a statement to the outlet saying, “As the Fox principals who negotiated the settlement well know, Dominion made no demands about Tucker Carlson’s employment orally or in writing.”
“Any claims otherwise are categorically false and a thinly veiled effort to further damage Dominion,” the firm noted further. “Fox should take every effort to stop these lies immediately.”
