Howard Stern says fired Fox host Tucker Carlson forgot he’s a “worker bee.”
Howard Sterns responded to Fox News firing Tucker Carlson, claiming the right-wing media personality was just another “worker bee” and “fly on Rupert Murdoch’s a**.”
On Wednesday’s segment of “The Howard Stern Show,” the candid host said Murdoch would fire anyone who was a “pain in the a**” and that Tucker’s departure from the media giant was “a good life lesson.”
Tucker was unexpectedly fired from Fox News on Monday, and sources say billionaire Murdoch has given him the boot.
His show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, was Fox’s huge overnight hit, drawing 3.5 million viewers every night.
“In the end, you’re a fly on its a******,” Stern said. “You are nothing because he will still have billions and billions and billions of dollars and own a giant company. And you know, you can’t screw it up. You can only push them so far.’
Howard Stern denounced former Fox News host Tucker Carlson as just another fly on the media company’s “a**.” In the photo: Howard Stern
Tucker Carlson was unexpectedly fired from Fox Monday despite bringing millions of viewers to the news center on his nightly specials
While Tucker was a huge media personality for Fox, Stern claimed the company, particularly Murdoch, didn’t need him.
Stern made a comparison to his work on SiriusXM and how he was just an insignificant pawn.
“I know who owns SiriusXM, I know who the guy is at the top…I think he owns entire states in the United States,” Stern said.
‘He doesn’t need me. I’m here at his… service… I know that at the end of the day my husband is my master and I love working at SiriusXM. So, you know, I could break balls, blah, blah.”
“But in the end I’m worthless. And I always have that in mind.’
Stern claims to be humble compared to other major media personalities, including Carlson.
“The boys love Bill O’Reilly Tucker Carlson. What they forget is that they are another brick in the wall.
‘That’s what you are. You are a worker bee. I am a worker bee. You know, they pay me well and everything… It doesn’t stop me for a minute that I think I’m more important than the man who owns this place. He is my Lord and Savior.’
This isn’t the first time Stern has mocked Murdoch.
When Stern signed another contract in 2015 to stay on SiriusXM for an undisclosed but presumably mega salary, he joked that he now made more than Murdoch, who currently has a net worth of $17.4 billion.
“I signed for $100 billion. I now own Rupert Murdoch,” Stern said at the time The week.
He later joked in 2017 that he was going to write “Fox News the Musical” to highlight the sexual assault allegations that surrounded the late CEO Roger Ailes and former commentator Bill O’Reilly.
“I seriously thought about, no b******, actually sitting down and writing ‘Fox News the Musical’ to the point where I wrote an outline,” Stern said in 2017, according to New York daily news. “All things aside, I’m really thinking about writing this thing.”
On Wednesday’s segment of “The Howard Stern Show,” the SiriusXM radio show host said that Fox Corporation chairman Murdoch would fire anyone who was a “pain in the a**.” Pictured: Rupert Murdoch
Carlson got his own show on the network in 2016 and quickly became its most-watched host, cementing his own fan base and reputation for taking some of the most extreme, hard-right positions on cable news
Carlson joined Fox in 2009 as a contributor, having previously expressed his conservative views on CNN shows.
He got his own show on the network in 2016 and quickly became its most-watched host, cementing his own fanbase and reputation for taking some of the most extreme, hard-right positions on cable news.
His departure comes just five days after Fox settled with Dominion Voting Systems, which filed a libel lawsuit alleging that hosts like Carlson knew President Trump’s claims of election fraud were untrue, but pushed them for ratings.
Dominion sued for $1.6 billion and settled at the 11th hour for $787 million, narrowly avoiding an embarrassing and highly publicized trial where Carlson and other hosts would likely have been called as witnesses.
While Carlson brought millions of viewers to Fox News, a string of recent controversies, including the Dominion claims and his own comments about the January 6 riots, left him in hotter water than he was used to.
It is unclear how long his contract will run and whether Fox will pay severance pay. A 2020 report by CNN’s Brian Stelter listed his salary as $10 million a year.