Two top producers for Tucker Carlson’s previous show have left Fox News, in the latest fallout from Mr. Carlson through the network.
Alexander McCaskill, a senior producer and former editor-in-chief of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” wrote on Instagram that his last day with the network was Thursday. Thomas Fox, who was a senior editor on that show, also left this week, according to two people with knowledge of the moves.
One of the people said Mr. McCaskill and Mr. Fox were in talks to leave the network before Tuesday, when a chyron appearing on Fox News called President Biden a “wannabe dictator.”
In a video posted to Twitter on Thursday, Mr Carlson said the chyron was posted by a network producer who had since left. While not naming Mr. McCaskill, Mr. Carlson listed facts about the person, such as his time with the network, that matched Mr. McCaskill.
“Within Fox, the women who run the network panicked” after the chyron was hung up, said Mr. Carlson. “First they scolded the producer who put the banner on the screen. He resigned less than 24 hours later. He had been at Fox for over ten years.”
A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. McCaskill and Mr. Fox. In a statement on Wednesday, the company said “the chyron was immediately removed and addressed.”
Mr Fox declined to comment on his departure in a short phone call on Friday. Mr. McCaskill did not respond to a request for comment.
The Daily Beast previously reported Mr McCaskill’s departure, which he confirmed in a post on his private Instagram on Thursday. “Today was my last day at Fox,” the post read. “It’s been a wild 10 years and it’s been the best place I’ve ever worked because of the amazing people I’ve met. But the time has come. I asked them to let me go, and they finally did.”
Mr. McCaskill and Mr. Fox are also both defendants in a discrimination suit against Fox brought by Abby Grossberg, a former producer at the company who worked briefly on Mr. Carlson’s show.
Ms. Grossberg has accused Mr. McCaskill and other “Tucker Carlson Tonight” producers of creating a toxic and misogynistic workplace in which they harassed her, often used a crude pejorative to describe women, and made anti-Semitic remarks.
Fox News and Ms. Grossberg are in settlement talks, a person with knowledge of the talks said. CNN previously reported on a possible deal between the two parties.
A lawyer for Ms. Grossberg and the Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment on potential discussions.
Ms. Grossberg had also accused Fox News of forcing her to make a misleading statement in the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. She has since dropped that case.
Days after Fox settled the Dominion case for $787.5 million, Fox brought Mr. Carlson from the air. The New York Times reported that Fox executives were increasingly concerned about the problems he was posing for the network. Mr. Carlson is still under contract with Fox, who have demanded that he stop posting videos on Twitter.
A third top member of the team of Mr. Carlson also recently left Fox. Charles Couger, executive producer of “Tucker Carlson Originals,” Mr. Carlson’s show on the Fox Nation streaming service, left the network in May, according to his LinkedIn profile. Mr. Couger declined to comment.
