- Tucker Carlson, Fox News’ prime-time opinion presenter, called the racist and sexist posts secretly written for years by its former lead writer “erroneous” before condemning the “self-justice” of its critics.
- Carlson said the intolerant feelings that Blake Neff routinely expressed online “had no connection” to his show, which Neff says was central to the creation of each night.
- “It is wrong to attack people for qualities that they cannot control. In this country, we judge people by what they do, not by how they were born,” Carlson, the most-watched cable presenter, said during his Monday show on the night.
- But Carlson went on to say that Neff had “paid a very high price” for his actions, and the host condemned Neff’s critics, whom he called “ghouls” eager for the “destruction of a young man.”
- Carlson announced at the end of his program that he will be on a “long-planned” fishing vacation for the next few days.
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Tucker Carlson, Fox News’ prime-time opinion presenter, called the racist and sexist posts secretly written for years by its former lead writer “erroneous” before condemning the “self-justice” of its critics.
Carlson made his first public statement Monday night about the recent resignation of his former lead writer, Blake Neff, who was exposed Friday in a CNN Business report for anonymously writing racist, sexist and homophobic posts for years at a forum in line.
The most-watched cable presenter in the country said his former writer was “appalled” and “embarrassed” by “reports” about his online writing, and Carlson said that the feelings Neff expressed online “had no connection” to the Fox News program, which Neff says was central to the creation of each night.
“We want to say a couple of things about this: First, what Blake wrote anonymously was wrong, we don’t endorse those words, they have no connection to the show,” Carlson said. “It is wrong to attack people for qualities that they cannot control. In this country, we judge people by what they do, not by how they were born. We often say that because we mean it. We will continue to uphold that principle, often just among national news programs, because it’s essential. Nothing is more important. “
He added: “Blake did not meet that standard, and has paid a high price for it.”
But Carlson then launched an attack on those who condemned Neff’s offensive charges, calling those critics “demons” who “are committing the gravest sin of all” by claiming they are “holy.”
“We should also note that the ghouls are now beating their chests in triumph over the destruction of a young man who’s own justice also has its costs,” Carlson said. “We are human. When we pretend to be holy, we are lying. When we act blameless to hurt other people, we are committing the most serious sin of all and will be punished for it, there is no doubt.”
Neff, who joined the Carlson show in January 2017, recently told Dartmouth Alumni magazine, “anything [Carlson] is reading the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me. ”
Neff posted bigoted messages for several years under the pseudonym “CharlesXII” on the AutoAdmit online forum, CNN Business first reported on Friday.
Fox News executives released a memo Saturday condemning Neff’s “horrendous and deeply offensive” posts, which they said they did not know until Friday.
“We want to make absolutely clear that Fox News Media strongly condemns this horrible racist, misogynistic and homophobic behavior,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President and CEO Jay Wallace wrote in the statement.
—Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) July 14, 2020
