Tucker Carlson considered running for president to escape his Fox News contract, Ron DeSantis may have kicked the TV host’s dog, and Rupert Murdoch called Sean Hannity a “retard.” according to an explosive new book.
Author Michael Wolff detailed the shocking allegations in his upcoming book The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty, which is due to be released on September 26.
It purports to give readers a behind-the-curtains look at how the media company handled issues like the Dominion libel lawsuit, post-election clashes with Donald Trump, Carlson’s firing and the Murdoch family drama.
Wolff, who is best known for Fire and Fury, his account of the Trump administration, argues in his latest book that Fox News and the Murdoch empire are in decline.
Dailymail.com has contacted Carlson, DeSantis, Murdoch, Hannity, Wolff and Fox News for comment.
Tucker Carlson considered running for president to escape his Fox News contract, Ron DeSantis may have kicked the TV host’s dog, and Rupert Murdoch called Sean Hannity “retarded.” according to an explosive new book.
Provocative author Michael Wolff (pictured) detailed the shocking allegations in his upcoming book The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty, which is due to be published on September 26.
It purports to give readers a behind-the-curtains look at how the media company handled issues like the Dominion libel lawsuit, post-election clashes with Donald Trump, Carlson’s firing and the Murdoch family drama. Pictured: Rupert Murdoch
In one chapter, seen by The daily beasthe writes that before Carlson was fired from his prime-time show Tucker Carlson Tonight, he had considered running for president to escape his contract with Fox News.
Wolff also alleges a bizarre incident in which Florida Governor DeSantis and his wife Casey shared a meal with Carlson and his wife Susan.
The couple were invited to the former Fox News host’s Florida home for lunch, but the couple reportedly failed to impress and pass the “Susie Carlson test.”
Wolff wrote that DeSantis failed to “read the room,” especially with Carlson’s wife who is “a genteel housewife, here in her own home.”
“For two hours, Ron DeSantis sat at his table, speaking with an outsider’s voice inside, without observing the basics of conversational ritual or propriety, reeling off an unconscious list of his political programs, initiatives and accomplishments,” he wrote.
The author claimed that an “impersonal” DeSantis was dismissive and used physical force against one of the Carlson family’s four pet spaniels.
“DeSantis pushed the dog under the table,” Wolff wrote. “Did he kick the dog?” Susie Carlson’s judgment was clear: she never wanted to be near someone like that again.
“Her husband agreed. DeSantis, according to Carlson, was a “fascist.” The pot makes the kettle even blacker. Forget Ron DeSantis.
Wolff claimed Fox urged its stars to be “open-minded” about DeSantis, who was Murdoch’s “preferred candidate” for the 2024 presidential election.
Elsewhere in his book, he says Hannity is considered a “moron” in Murdoch circles.
Wolff alleged that the media mogul even used an ableist slur to describe his Fox News star.
In one chapter, he writes that before Carlson was fired from his prime-time show Tucker Carlson Tonight, he had considered running for president to escape his contract with Fox News.
The author claimed that an “impersonal” Ron DeSantis was dismissive and used physical force against one of the Carlson family’s four pet spaniels during a lunch in Florida.
“When Murdoch was briefed on Hannity’s defense of Fox’s post-election coverage, on and off the air, he may have appeared to justify his anchor: ‘He’s a retard, like most Americans ‘”, he wrote.
Wolff claimed that Murdoch considered letting Hannity go as a way to give Dominion Voting Systems a “head” in exchange for a settlement.
His son Lachlan Murdoch reportedly proposed citing Hannity’s previously secret relationship with Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt and pointing to the firing of former CNN CEO Jeff Zucker as precedent.
Murdoch’s ex-wife, Jerry Hall, allegedly criticized him for the way he talked about someone’s sexuality, according to the book.
“Rupert, why are you so homophobic? she allegedly shouted at him on a terrace in Saint-Barthélemy during a meal, according to the book.
“You’re so homophobic,” Wolff asserts, before telling his friends, “He’s an old man.”
Wolff alleged media mogul Murdoch even used an ableist slur to describe his Fox News star Sean Hannity (pictured)
Wolff’s previous book on Trump sold millions of copies despite allegations by some mentioned in the book that he had misquoted or misrepresented them.
And the author said Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan didn’t want his famous friends to see him as a Trump supporter or a right-winger.
Wolff claimed he showed Resistance-style anti-Trump toiletries. “In the run-up to the 2016 election, the Mandeville House toilet contained toilet paper with Trump’s face on it, visitors reported with relief and satisfaction,” Wolff wrote.
“He told people his wife and kids cried when Trump was elected.”
A Fox News spokesperson said: “The fact that this author’s latest book was spoofed in a Saturday Night Live sketch is really all we need to know.”
Wolff said: “All of the main characters in the book, including (Murdoch), have been contacted for comment.” But a source said Fox News or Fox Corp had not been contacted to verify the facts.
Wolff’s previous book on Trump sold millions of copies despite allegations by some mentioned in the book that he had misquoted or misrepresented them.
Hall and Lachlan have been contacted for comment.