Wildly popular podcast host Joe Rogan is certainly no stranger to controversy or to calls for him to be booted off of his platform — making him uniquely suited to offer some insight into the Tucker Carlson controversy that has erupted over the last week.
Rogan did just that on Thursday’s episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” when he had on Libertarian comedian Dave Smith.
WARNING: The following clip contains language and content that the listener may find offensive
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In a wide-ranging episode (the above clip alone covers a number of topics), Rogan and Smith were discussing Carlson’s mysterious ouster from Fox News, what Carlson brought to the table, what his now-former network would be losing, and what could be next for Carlson — assuming Fox doesn’t put the kibosh on it.
“He’s really designed for the internet,” Rogan said of Carlson.
“I hope he goes there,” Smith responded.
“He’s going to,” Rogan said. “Unless, they’ve paid him off.”
After collecting his thoughts, Rogan explained: “If I was a person in a position of power and a wild card like Tucker Carlson got released from Fox News and maybe Rumble makes a deal with him or something like that.
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“Do you have any f***ing idea how big that would be? How big his show [would be]? It could make that app. It could make that platform. I mean, if Tucker Carlson goes over there, it’d be worth it to them to invest a considerable amount of money [into Carlson.]
“But if I was Fox News, that’s the last thing I would want. So I would make sure that we have him locked up through the entire term of some contract, some no-compete. Pay him off. You’d be better off just giving him the same amount of money he made when he was on the air, than have him opposing you.”
That last notion from Rogan is one that’s actually been making the rounds, specifically that Fox News could deliberately sideline Carlson through the 2024 election due to his existing contract with the network.
With a name as big as Carlson’s and a network as big as Fox News, theories on the conservative firebrand’s ouster have run rampant.
Some think Carlson’s firing could portend a seismic sale of Fox News, while others think that Carlson’s outspoken support of his faith in God contributed to Fox News head honcho Rupert Murdoch cutting him.
Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News host whom Carlson actually replaced, thinks that Carlson’s firing had everything to do with the Dominion lawsuit settlement that has plagued the network.
Perhaps the most ominous theory being reported on Carlson’s ouster is that, aside from any contractual or legal weapons at its disposal, Fox News also has an “oppo file” with dirt on Carlson to keep him from fighting back against the network too harshly.
All the above could be contributing in some manner as to why, despite many reports of purported job offers being hurled at Carlson, nothing official has materialized yet.
Regardless of the shakeup, Fox News ratings have largely cratered since Carlson’s departure.
