Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the subject of a lawsuit involving sexual harassment and allegations of rape, attacked the New York Times with the specious claim that the paper was set to reveal his home address.
Carlson, who has a history of lying on his Fox News show, claimed on his July 20 broadcast that a reporter from the times planned a hit piece against him.
In reaction to Carlson’s suspicious claim, Fox News fans began to attack the Times reporter, publishing his personal information on Twitter.
The Times denied Carlson’s claim that it planned to expose his address. The Times does not have a history of disclosing the addresses of its subjects or “doxxing” them.
“Many encouraged people to harass the reporter,” the Washington Post reported.
Fox News hosts have a history of directing the ire of the network’s conservative viewers against others. Most notably, disgraced former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly repeatedly accused abortion provider George Tiller of being “Tiller the baby killer.”
Tiller was later murdered by an anti-choice activist.
Carlson did not appear to have a problem with previous disclosures of his home address.
A 2017 story in the Washington Business Journal revealed that Carlson sold one home for $2.04 million while purchasing another in Washington, D.C. for $3.895 million.
Similarly, Carlson did not appear to have a problem with a story published in Variety five days before his broadcast revealing his purchase of a $2.9 million home in Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Carlson’s attack on the Times was conveniently made on the same day that the Fox host was included in a lawsuit against the network.
Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox Business producer, and Cathy Areu, a journalist who was a regular on Fox News, accuse former Fox News host Ed Henry of rape in their suit.
“The lawsuit also alleged that Areu was subjected to sexual harassment by three other Fox News hosts: Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Howard Kurtz,” CNN reported.
While he took time to attack the Times on his program, Carlson did not address the suit and its serious allegations.
Fox News, which was founded by serial sexual assailant Roger Ailes, denied the allegations. Fox News has a history of covering up sexual abuse among network hosts. Fox paid out millions in settlements to silence allegations of sexual harassment against former host Bill O’Reilly.
Tucker Carlson is an influential informal adviser to Donald Trump, who has repeatedly used his program to amplify racist attacks on Black and Latino people.
Dozens of advertisers have ceased sponsoring Carlson’s program. Lately, a large number of advertising slots on Carlson’s program have been ads for the company My Pillow, who has falsely claimed their pillows can cure diseases like multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
My Pillow founder Mike Lindell is an ally of Donald Trump. At a White House event, Lindell claimed Trump was “chosen by God” to be president.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.