'Everything is irony': Fox News' Tucker Carlson fires back at progressive watchdog amid resurrected offensive statements
- Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson fired back at Media Matters for America president Angelo Carusone, following the resurrection of derogatory statements reportedly made by both men.
- "Everything is irony," Carlson said during his program on Wednesday. "Carusone is himself an enthusiastic bigot."
- Carlson's comments come amid the discovery of controversial blog posts from 2005 that were attributed to Carusone.
- The fracas kicked off when Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog, unearthed past commentary between Carlson and shock-jock radio host Bubba the Love Sponge.
- The cache of audio clips included Carlson making numerous statements that echoed white nationalist, misogynistic, and racially insensitive themes.
Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson fired back at Media Matters for America president Angelo Carusone, following the resurrection of derogatory statements made by both men.
"Everything is irony," Carlson said during his program on Wednesday. "Carusone, is himself, an enthusiastic bigot."
Carlson's comments come amid the discovery of controversial blog posts from 2005 that were attributed to Carusone. In the blog, Carusone allegedly used several inflammatory slurs referencing the transgender community, people of Japanese descent, and Jews, according to The Daily Caller, a conservative-leaning news site co-founded by Carlson.
Carusone did not respond to INSIDER's request for comment.
Carlson recited some of the blog's statements and criticized MSNBC host Chris Hayes for interviewing Carusone on Monday without raising the claims made in The Daily Caller's report.
"Somehow, and this is the remarkable part, Chris Hayes managed to pretend that none of this ever happened," Tucker said. "Hayes never mentioned the 'Jewish gold' ... none of that. Instead, Hayes gave cover to Carusone's bigotry and anti-Semitism."
But Hayes appears to have had no reasonable way of knowing about Carusone's older blog posts. The Daily Caller's exclusive report was published Tuesday, one day after Hayes' only interview with Carusone on Monday night.
The fracas began Sunday after Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog, unearthed past commentary between Carlson and shock-jock radio host Bubba the Love Sponge. The cache of audio clips included Carlson making numerous statements that echoed white nationalist, misogynistic, and racially insensitive themes. The remarks were reportedly made from the radio show between 2006 and 2011.
The resurrection of clips has emboldened critics of his controversial statements on his Fox News show.
Carlson addressed the incident on Twitter, saying he was caught "saying something on a radio show more than a decade ago."
"I'm on television every weeknight live for an hour," Carlson said. "If you want to know what I think, you can watch. Anyone who disagrees with my views is welcome to come on and explain why."
Media Matters has since released additional audio clips, including one where Carlson is heard making sexually explicit comments about an under-aged beauty pageant contestant.
Unlike his current and former Fox News colleagues, Carlson appears to be weathering the public relations storm (though he has lost some advertisers). Prior to his dismissal, former Fox News opinion commentator Bill O'Reilly claimed he was taking a pre-planned vacation after he was accused of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. Laura Ingraham, another Fox News host, also took a vacation amid a public relations crisis after her confrontation with David Hogg, a Parkland school shooting survivor, before returning to her show.