Tucker Carlson’s Next Move After Departure From Fox News Is Revealed

Carlson is expected to speak at an Alabama fundraiser for disabled adults on Thursday, group says

Fox News host Tucker Carlson speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at Los Angeles Convention Center on Oct. 21, 2018. Rich Polk/Getty Images for Politicon

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is expected to appear at an Alabama fundraiser this week, coming more than a week after his departure from Fox News, according to the organization of the event.

Carlson will speak at the annual fundraiser for Rainbow Omega at 7 p.m. on Thursday, according to the Oxford Performing Arts Center website. Rainbow Omega bills itself as a “faith-based non-profit organization that provides vocational and residential programs to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

“He’ll be here Thursday,” Tim Hodge, the executive director of Rainbow Omega in Eastaboga, told AL.com on Monday afternoon.

“We actually booked him back last fall,” Hodge said, referring to the popular former host. “The timing for last week’s announcement was unexpected by anybody.”

Last Monday, Fox News confirmed that it parted ways with Carlson but neither the company nor Carlson have provided any details about why. Since then, Carlson has released one video that criticized the state of the news media in general.

“Anytime you have a featured speaker from the world of politics, with our country’s political divide, you can bet there’s a lot of interest,” Hodge told the outlet. “It was kind of an unusual situation. There has been renewed interest.”

Hodge added that Carlson has “honored what he said he would do,” adding: “We’re looking forward to him being here and being part of our fundraiser.”

It’s not clear what Carlson will talk about during the event in Alabama. Hodge stated that Carlson agreed to attend the fundraiser because he believes it’s a worthwhile cause.

“If he announces what he plans to do next, we would have loved to have retroactively known that and promoted that,” Hodge remarked, without elaborating. “It’s an interesting sequence of events that led to where we are.”

The final episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News aired on April 24 after he had been at the network for about 14 years. Since Fox’s announcement, there has been widespread speculation about why.

“Tucker Carlson hasn’t actually been fired. He’s still an employee of the Fox News Channel,” former Fox host Megyn Kelly said during an April 25 episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show.” “And now they’re going to have to negotiate an exit,” Kelly added.

The Epoch Times has contacted Fox News for comment about Kelly’s claims. A spokesperson responded by directing to the news release announcing his departure from the network.

Meanwhile, left-wing activist group Media Matters of America this week has released a number of secretly recorded videos—dubbed “FOXLEAKS”—that include Carlson making a range of comments, including one where he insults Media Matters. It’s not clear how Media Matters obtained the footage.

Ratings Slip

Ratings posted by Nielsen Research show that “Fox News Tonight,” the replacement for Carlson’s 8 p.m. ET show, drew 1.15 million viewers on April 28. Carlson’s finale show on April 21 drew 2.65 million viewers, while he averaged about 3 million viewers for the entirety of last week.

“Fox News Tonight,” which Fox described as a temporary replacement show, posted viewerships of 2.59 million on Monday, 1.7 million on Tuesday, and 1.33 million on Wednesday, and 1.46 million on Thursday, respectively, according to Nielsen. In last week’s statement announcing Carlson’s departure, Fox News said that it would use a rotating cast of hosts for a temporary show.

Host Sean Hannity’s 9 p.m. ET show also has seen a drop in ratings following Carlson’s exit, the data shows.

Notably, after the 2020 election, Fox News saw a decrease in ratings when it declared on Election Night that then-candidate Joe Biden won Arizona’s 11 electors. At the time, former President Donald Trump told his supporters should find alternatives to the channel.

“For more than 21 years, Fox News Channel has been cable news’ most-watched network in all categories with more Democrats, Independents, and Republicans now tuning in than either CNN or MSNBC,” Fox News said Monday in a statement to the Washington Post about its ratings. “Attracting more than 50 percent of the cable news-viewing audience with the top 12 programs in cable news, Fox News’ powerhouse team of journalists, analysts, and opinion hosts are trusted more by viewers than any other news source.” It comes as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called on Fox News to “do the right thing” after the network parted ways with popular host Tucker Carlson last week.