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25th April 2023
07:00am BST
Fox News star Tucker Carlson is to leave the network immediately, the broadcaster confirmed Monday.
In a short statement, it 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."
Carlson's last day hosting his show was last Friday.
Fortune reported that Fox lost more than $690 million in value after announcing Carlson's departure, with Class A shares of Fox Corp tanking as much as 5.4 per cent Monday, the most since October.
It appeared Carlson did not know his departure was so imminent, as he signed off Friday by wishing viewers the "best weekend" and telling them he'd be back Monday.
The presenter's departure comes less than a week after the network settled a costly defamation lawsuit by an election technology company for more than $787 million.
Dominion Voting Systems sued over segments promoting bogus claims that election fraud cheated then-President Donald Trump of victory in 2020.
Carlson featured in Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit.
He is also the focus of a lawsuit from his former senior booking producer, Abby Grossberg, who filed two separate suits.
Grossberg has accused Carlson and Fox of sexism and harassment, alleging that his show's workplace was replete with examples of misogyny, NPR reported.
Her lawsuit claims, among other things, that mocked-up photographic images depicted then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "in a bathing suit revealing her cleavage" and that staffers were polled — on two separate occasions — on which of two female candidates for Michigan governor they would rather have sex with.
Grossberg's lawyer, Tanvir Rahman, suggested Carlson's departure was "in part, an admission of the systemic lying, bullying, and conspiracy-mongering claimed by our client".
Senior executive producer of Carlson's show, Justin Wells, who also is named as a defendant in that lawsuit, was also let go by Fox.
Grossberg's other lawsuit focuses on the actions of Fox's legal team. She claims the attorneys pressured her to lie in her sworn statements for the defamation case about what she witnessed at the network.
Carlson was Fox's most prominent personality, stepping in to replace former star host Bill O'Reilly after a series of sexual harassment allegations forced his departure.
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