Tucker Carlson's sudden departure from Fox News has appeared to catch him off guard.
On Monday (April 24), the network made a bombshell announcement that it had "agreed to part ways" with its most-watched primetime host with immediate effect.
"We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor," the company said in a short statement obtained by Business Insider.
"Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday, April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 pm starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named," they added, according to The Independent.
Watch Carlson's final sign-off below:Although the network’s statement suggested the 53-year-old's departure was reciprocal, the host didn't make any reference to his impending exit during the final moments of Friday’s broadcast of Tucker Carlson Tonight - which is now understood to be his last.
During the final segment on his show, Carlson ate pizza with Tyler Morrell - a pizza delivery driver from Pennsylvania who assisted in the arrest of a suspect evading law enforcement.
The host's final sign-off was upbeat and positive as he told viewers: "What a great way to the end the week," adding: "That’s it for us for the week, we’ll be back."
"We’ll be back on Monday - in the meantime have the best weekend with the ones you love. See you then," he unknowingly concluded. Well, now it's clear that isn't happening.
Unsurprisingly, footage of Carlson's last moments has gone viral on social media as many users shared their opinion on his shock exit.
One user wrote: "He. Had. No. Idea!!!!"
Another person quipped: "History books will reflect how Tucker Carlson's final moment on Fox News involved him eating pizza and talking about munching on bugs."
A third commented: "Narrator: He would not, in fact, be back on Monday."
Carlson leaves Fox News less than a week after the company resolved a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million over the cable company's promotion of lies about the November 2020 election, as reported by Business Insider.
Before the lawsuit was settled, text messages and emails by the primetime host and other network personalities were made public as part of court filings.
The executive slammed the network's coverage of the elections, with Laura Ingraham saying, "I think the three of us have enormous power," per the outlet.
Carlson's texts also revealed he called the former US President Donald Trump's lawyer, Sidney Powell, a "f***ing b***h" and said he was tired of having to cover for Trump, writing: "I hate him passionately."
The text exchange was dated January 4, 2021, which was two days before pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to block Congress from approving current President Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.
Furthermore, another exchange was made public in March and showed that Carlson penned: "We're all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest. But come on. There really isn't an upside to Trump," as cited by People.
