Fox News responded on Thursday to rumors that anchor Laura Ingraham would be fired from the network, emphatically denying the suggestions and alleging that the rumors are part of an effort to sow discord by malicious left-wing activists.
“Reports based on various tweets by left wing activists are wildly inaccurate – Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the Fox News lineup,” the network said on Thursday in a statement to Mediaite.
The rumors began with speculation on the Drudge Report about a supposed overhaul of the network’s lineup, which would see Hannity seize Carlson’s former 8 p.m. spot and hosts Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld moved to primetime.
In response to the Drudge Report article, Democratic activist John Cooper claimed that Ingraham would be fired as part of the lineup in a since-deleted tweet.
“BREAKING: Laura Ingraham has reportedly been FIRED by Fox News. Waiting for formal confirmation by the network,” Cooper said without any apparent evidence. “More details in below thread as they become known.”
While the network has dismissed the rumors of Ingraham’s imminent firing, the existence of such speculation comes as the unexpected firing of Tucker Carlson last April has led many insiders to expect a summer of backstabbing and bitterness at the network.
When the network announced on April 24 that Carlson would be dismissed from the network, many were surprised that Fox would part ways with its biggest star.
Since this development, a multitude of speculative explanations have been proposed for Carlson’s ouster, most recently that the firing was part of a settlement between the network and Dominion Voting Systems, which sued Fox for defamation on the basis of the network’s coverage of alleged irregularities in the 2020 presidential election. Fox has denied that Carlson’s firing was part of a settlement with the election technology company.
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