Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Monday spent a considerable chunk of his prime time show railing against what he called “the left’s latest attack on free speech and opposition” after his past derogatory comments about women and minorities recently resurfaced.
In a nearly seven-minute opening monologue on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the longtime host doubled down on his refusal to apologize for the incendiary remarks and vowed never to “bow to the mob” after his comments sparked backlash.
Tucker Carlson slamned the so-called “great American outrage machine” and refused to apologize for his derogatory remarks against women and minorities. (YouTube video screenshot)
“Fox News is behind us, as they have been since the very first day,” Carlson, 49, said as graphics that read “Liberal Hypocrisy” and “Crackdown on Dissent” flashed on the screen. “Toughness is a rare quality in a TV network, and we’re grateful for that.”
“We’ve always apologized when we’re wrong, and we’ll continue to do that,” he continued. “That’s what decent people do. They apologize. But we will never bow to the mob, ever, no matter what.”
Carlson addressed the outrage days after progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America published interviews from shock jock radio program “Bubba the Love Sponge,” on which the host spewed misogynistic rhetoric, defended statutory rape and downplayed the actions of convicted polygamist and child sex abuser Warren Jeffs. As first reported by Media Matters, Carlson appeared as a weekly guest on the syndicated radio show hosted by Tom Clem from 2006 to 2011, where they discussed many cultural and political topics.
In the clips, Carlson described Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart using a not-so-nice four-letter word and labeled celebrities Britney Spears and Paris Hilton as the” biggest white whores in America,” according to transcripts posted by Media Matters over the weekend. When he wasn’t discussing underage girls and sex, Carlson argued women are “extremely primitive” and enjoy being ordered around.
On Monday’s show, the Fox News host made several indirect references to fallout from his resurfaced remarks and slammed the so-called “great American outrage machine,” where people are vilified by the media, forced to apologize and yet still face backlash.
“But what if we stopped pretending for a minute?” he asked viewers. “What if we acknowledged what’s actually going on?”
Carlson proceeded to blast the GOP for being “too scared” to stand up to the Democrats, who he described as hypocrites hellbent on crushing anybody who opposes their views.
“Why are the people who consider Bill Clinton a hero lecturing me about sexism?” he said. “How can the party that demands racial quotas denounce other people as racists? After a while, you begin to think that maybe their criticisms aren’t sincere. Maybe their moral puffery is a costume. Maybe the whole conversation is an absurd joke.”
Carlson continued: “These are the people who write our movies and our sitcoms. “They aren’t not shocked by naughty words. They just pretend to be when it’s useful. It’s been very useful lately.”
As Carlson’s show aired, Media Matter’s released additional radio show recordings in which the host described Iraq as “a crappy place filled with a bunch of … semi-literate primitive monkeys,” and argued the Congressional Black Caucus’ only purpose “is to blame the white man for everything.”
“I have seen a lot more of the typical — and I mean this — typical whining from a Black politician about how, ‘You don’t like me because I’m Black,’ ” he said during a 2008 airing of the Bubba radio show, arguing Black politicians were “using racism as a defense.”
The new recordings only added fuel to fire for critics calling on Fox News to give Carlson the boot. There was also no shortage of critics who took to social media to express their outrage and accuse Carlson of spewing white supremacist ideology.
“@TuckerCarlson’s ‘free speech’ defense is complete nonsense,” high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted. “Walk into your place of employment today and repeat what he said verbatim and see what happens to your continued employment. Btw, bring a box for your shit with you.”
“Tucker Carlson said “white men” deserve credit for ‘creating civilization.’ He described Iraqis as “semiliterate primitive monkeys.’ He said the Congressional Black Caucus ‘exists to blame the white man for everything.’ It’s all white nationalist rhetoric,” writer Jedd Legum opined.
Democratic Coalition founder Scott Dworkin added: “Tucker Carlson used the c-word, said women are ‘primitive’ and are ‘like dogs’ and he also once joked about a 13-year-old being molested, during radio appearances just unearthed. He should be fired by Fox News immediately.”
This latest controversy comes just months after Carlson, who joined Fox News in 2009, drew backlash late last year after he argued that immigration makes the U.S. “poorer and dirtier and more divided.” Several big name sponsors pulled their ads form his show.
Watch more in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJwDpbV7_6M
