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Schaudenfreudegasm: Fox has secret oppo file on Tucker (Rolling Stone)
Rolling Stone
(NB: "8 sources" probably means Fox is sending a message to Tucker to shut up)
Fox Has a Secret ‘Oppo File’ to Keep Tucker Carlson in Check, Sources Say
Eight sources tell Rolling Stone that the network’s top brass has been stockpiling information on the departing primetime host
Fox News executives have in their possession a dossier of alleged dirt on Tucker Carlson should he attack the network in the wake of his departure, eight sources at and close to the network tell Rolling Stone.
When Fox announced Carlson’s departure on Monday, the network presented the separation as amiable. But according to one former on-air Fox personality, the anchor and some of the channel’s top executives are parting ways on “the worst” and “messiest possible terms.” Indeed, in private communications released last month as part of the Dominion-Fox lawsuit, the now-fired Fox host gossiped that one such exec “hates us,” claiming she was covertly working against him and other hosts.
But if Carlson attempts to torch the network he’s leaving, Fox is prepared, the sources say.
Eight people familiar with the situation tell Rolling Stone that Fox News and its communications department — long led by the notoriously aggressive Irena Briganti — has assembled damaging information about Carlson. One source with knowledge calls it an “oppo file.” Two sources add that Fox is prepared to disclose some of its contents if execs suspect that Carlson is coming after the network.
The file includes internal complaints regarding workplace conduct, disparaging comments about management and colleagues, and allegations that the now-former primetime host created a toxic work environment, three of the sources say. (Carlson is currently facing a lawsuit from a former senior booking producer, Abby Grossberg, alleging a toxic and misogynist workplace environment. The lawsuit details repeated instances of misogynist behavior at the network, including frequent lewd and sexual discussions of female guests and public figures. Grossberg, “continued to endure a work environment that subjugates women based on vile sexist stereotypes, typecasts religious minorities and belittles their traditions, and demonstrates little to no regard for those suffering from mental illness.” Fox denied the allegations when the lawsuits were filed, saying the claims were “without merit.”)
A network spokesperson denied the existence of the file on Carlson. “This is patently absurd and categorically false,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “We thank Tucker for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.”
Many sources within the network disagree. “Irena will never be shy about using these things,” says one network source who is familiar with the Carlson-related complaints.
Over the years, Briganti and Fox PR’s notoriously aggressive tactics have been turned against its own most prominent talent. For instance, The Daily Beast reported in 2018 that “emails reviewed and verified” by the outlet “show that Fox’s communications brass have planted negative stories about some of their own top stars, including hosts like Bill O’Reilly and Stuart Varney — the latter of whom is still a Fox employee.”
Those methods for keeping personnel in line are an open secret among current and former Fox News staff. Four former Fox News personalities confirmed Briganti likes to keep “dirt files” on Fox News talent, including one on Carlson.
An ex-Fox News anchor laments, “Irena tries to keep a file on everybody … Any talent like Tucker would have a lot of things; other people complaining. They encourage it and then just keep it on file. It’s just a classic dirty trick.”
“{Briganti} keeps files on everybody to screw with them,” a departed Fox News host adds. “It’s classic Fox.”
The sources say it was not clear what might prompt Briganti or Fox News to use the file. On Monday, it was revealed that Carlson had hired Bryan Freedman, a high-powered entertainment lawyer, to represent him following his Fox exit. Rolling Stone did not receive comment from Tucker Carlson at the time of this piece’s publication. Freedman did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
It’s also unclear what precisely triggered Carlson’s abrupt departure. In addition to the Grossberg suit, he was a prominent figure in Dominion Voting Systems’ legal action against Fox News, which the network settled for $787.5 million earlier this month. In the run-up to trial, it was revealed that Tucker had bashed top brass in text chats with fellow network talent.
“Do the executives understand how much credibility and trust we’ve lost with our audience?” Carlson wrote, shortly after Fox News projected Joe Biden had beaten Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Regarding Fox News executives, Carlson also privately sniped: “A combination of incompetent liberals and top leadership with too much pride to back down is what’s happening.”
Harshly trashing leadership is considered to be a major transgression at Fox News and Fox Business, where those who step out of line may find themselves on the receiving end of an unfavorable story.
Fox News has a history of taking punitive measures against departed personnel. When Megyn Kelly left the network in 2017 to host a morning talk show on NBC, it was reported that Briganti tried to push stories about the cable news star’s poor television ratings at the time, as well as her asking a Will and Grace fan if the show led him to being gay. Kelly has spoken out against Briganti, publicly noting the Fox spokesperson’s “vindictiveness.” Briganti’s aggressive methods are widely known in the media. A 2016 New York Magazine titled “The Silencing of Fox News’ Powerful Publicist Irena Briganti” cited several then-Fox female employees who claimed, “one of the reasons they did not speak up about sexual harassment in the past was that they were terrified Briganti would find out and smear them in the press.”
A current Fox News journalist says that Briganti won’t be afraid to use similar tactics against Carlson: “Irena is Fox’s fighter. She is very good at her job. I gotta believe she’s ready to fight Tucker if/when he takes this war publicly.”
Diana Falzone, one of the authors of this article, worked at Fox News from 2012 to 2018.
Vanity Fare
Tucker Carlson’s Prayer Talk May Have Led to Fox News Ouster: “That Stuff Freaks Rupert Out”
But none of these potential reasons fully add up. Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo hyped Dominion conspiracies far more than Carlson did, and yet she remains on the air. Fox had access to Carlson’s texts and emails in the Dominion lawsuit for months, and didn’t punish him for it. Fox hosts sued for sexual harassment in the past were fired publicly for cause, but Carlson wasn’t. According to a source, Carlson wasn’t even fired and remains on the Fox News payroll.
So the mystery remains: Why did Fox News take its biggest star off the air?
A new theory has emerged. According to the source, Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch removed Carlson over remarks Carlson made during a speech at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary gala on Friday night. Carlson laced his speech with religious overtones that even Murdoch found too extreme, the source, who was briefed on Murdoch’s decision-making, said. Carlson told the Heritage audience that national politics has become a manichean battle between “good” and “evil.” Carlson said that people advocating for transgender rights and DEI programs want to destroy America and they could not be persuaded with facts. “We should say that and stop engaging in these totally fraudulent debates…I’ve tried. That doesn’t work,” he said. The answer, Carlson suggested, was prayer. “I have concluded it might be worth taking just 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to say a prayer for the future, and I hope you will,” he said. “That stuff freaks Rupert out. He doesn’t like all the spiritual talk,” the source said.
Rupert Murdoch was perhaps unnerved by Carlson’s messianism because it echoed the end-times worldview of Murdoch’s ex-fiancée Ann Lesley Smith, the source said. In my May cover story, I reported that Murdoch and Smith called off their two-week engagement because Smith had told people Carlson was “a messenger from God.” Murdoch had seen Carlson and Smith discuss religion firsthand. In late March, Carlson had dinner at Murdoch’s Bel Air vineyard with Murdoch and Smith, according to the source. During dinner, Smith pulled out a bible and started reading passages from the Book of Exodus, the source said. “Rupert just sat there and stared,” the source said. A few days after the dinner, Murdoch and Smith called off the wedding. By taking Carlson off the air, Murdoch was also taking away his ex’s favorite show...
And the most unreliable source: the Wall Street Journal (but honestly, I think this article is just spin control from the Murdoch compound, trying to character assassinate Carlson so his inevitable smackback lacks punch)
Tucker Carlson’s Vulgar, Offensive Messages About Colleagues Helped Seal His Fate at Fox News
Prime-time host called senior executive the c-word in redacted missive; network grew wary of further embarrassment from possible disclosure
Several weeks ago, as Fox News lawyers prepared for a courtroom showdown with Dominion Voting Systems, they presented Tucker Carlson with what they thought was good news: They had persuaded the court to redact from a legal filing the time he called a senior Fox News executive the c-word, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Carlson, Fox News’s most-watched prime-time host, wasn’t impressed. He told his colleagues that he wanted the world to know what he had said about the executive in a private message, the people said. Mr. Carlson said comments he made about former President Donald Trump—“I hate him passionately”—that were in the court documents were said during a momentary spasm of anger, while his dislike of this executive was deep and enduring...
On Monday, Mr. Carlson’s famously combative stance toward members of Fox News management and other colleagues caught up with him, as the network abruptly announced it was parting ways with him, just minutes after informing Mr. Carlson of the change.
The private messages in which Mr. Carlson showed disregard for management and colleagues were a major factor in that decision, according to other people familiar with the matter. Although many portions of the Dominion court documents are redacted, there is concern among Fox Corp. executives that if the redacted material were to become public it would lead to further embarrassment for the network and parent company.
30 replies
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over dinner.
Now Ex fiancé.
And Ex Tucker.
Don't mess with Rupert
(Gosh, "Rupert" is the same name as the evil boss on "Ted Lasso" 
)
words. One cast member has an easy time memorizing his lines, I suspect, because a certain four letter word is just about the extent of his dialog.
Also, we watch it with captioning on, because the witty repartee comes fast and furious at points.
That word alone is DUzy worthy! 
(at least back when his idiocy reached a crescendo - it may have briefly returned but I think is gone for good here)
When he did his idiotic "rally" over a decade ago, that seemed to set the stage for more of that kind of nonsense from the RW -
However a couple of comedic geniuses came to the rescue where Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert teamed up to host their own "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" that mocked BecKKK's mess, and it was just hilarious!
I remember this being posted on DU and I re-post every once in awhile as it truly summarized a lot of the problem with the RW sheep. And in this case, was in reference to BecKKK -