Inside The Complicated Relationship Between Lachlan Murdoch & Tucker Carlson

Business mogul Rupert Murdoch announced in September 2023 that he is stepping down from his longtime position as Fox's chairman, and now all eyes are on who's next in line. Bill Hemmer shared the news of Rupert's retirement during a live segment of "America's Newsroom." It was revealed that Rupert — whose real-life family inspired the TV show "Succession" – will remain an "active member of the Fox community," but the role of chairman will ultimately be given to his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch.

Lachlan has long been thought to be even more conservative-leaning than his father. While Rupert Murdoch was often harsh to conservatives, including Donald Trump, his son has made several decisively right-wing statements that have sparked concern over the future of Fox News. Per NBC News, when Lachlan was the Fox Corp CEO, he once called upon Fox News to act as "loyal opposition" to President Joe Biden and his administration. This has furthered worries that Lachlan's takeover of Fox will push Fox News into more right-wing territory. 

There is also growing concern that Lachlan will once again give a spotlight to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was famously fired by Rupert before the chairman's departure (via Bloomberg). "Wouldn't surprise me if Lachlan Murdoch rehires Tucker Carlson," one person surmised on X, the platform known formerly as Twitter. However, the relationship between Tucker Carlson and Lachlan Murdoch isn't so cut-and-dry. The two have had a very complicated history thus far.

The infamous Capitol protest that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, was a life-changing event for many Americans. After that shocking day, the House moved to conduct a series of investigations to discover the truth of what happened at the Capitol and finally bring justice to those who were affected.

In 2022, the first House committee hearing took place, and members laid out their findings live for the television audience to see for themselves (via NPR). While many other media outlets chose to broadcast the historic live hearings, one news outlet was notably not part of that list. In a startling decision, Fox News chose to not air the live J6 hearings. Instead, several prominent commentators with the network were allowed to provide unfiltered commentary over the hearings.

Among these commentators was Tucker Carlson. The decision to allow Carlson and others to provide their own take on the J6 hearings was approved by none other than Lachlan Murdoch, per CNN. Murdoch has been labeled a close friend and supporter of Carlson. Tim O'Brien, senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion, even went so far as to say Murdoch was the reason Carlson stayed with the network for as long as he did. "Tucker Carlson exists because Lachlan Murdoch wants him to exist," O'Brien stated (via Newsweek).

When news broke that Tucker Carlson was being fired from Fox News, even his critics were shocked. Carlson was quickly becoming one of the conservative network's most popular hosts. The highly opinionated TV personality was largely the reason for Fox News' exponential growth in viewers, at times bringing in more than three million viewers to the network (via Forbes).

His impressive viewership numbers weren't enough to save him from his impending dismissal from the channel. In April 2023, Carlson was let go from his position as a host with Fox News. Insider reports that Rupert Murdoch fired Carlson in response to allegations that Carlson fostered a "sexist" work environment for his female colleagues. It's believed that Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott were the ones who phoned Carlson and dealt him the bad news.

Although it has never been officially confirmed, sources with Variety claim that Carlson's departure was part of a deal set in place in Fox News' historic $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.