The Tucker Timebomb: Fox News Loses Half of its Prized 25-54 Audience after the Shock Firing of Carlson

Tucker Carlson's shock firing not only rocked the primetime lineup at Fox News but also the demographic of viewers his coveted time slot once attracted, RadarOnline.com has learned.

New ratings show that half of the age 25-54 audience is no longer tuning in during the 8-11 PM hours, another blow to the total viewership around that time which has cut down nearly half in recent days from an average of 3.2 million viewers.

The numbers were lackluster despite the rotating hosts filling in. Carlson's last show was April 21, and a graph from Nielsen Media Research showed his April 18 program scored 303k viewers while the May 3 program was a mere 141k.

Carlson's ouster reportedly came after the discovery of a text message, one that was said to have contributed to a chain of events that ultimately led to his departure.

Insiders said network execs found the text message as the Fox News defamation trial with Dominion Voting Systems was set to kick off.

The message was sent to a producer hours after the Jan. 6. 2021, insurrection on the Capitol. In the text, obtained by The New York Times, he detailed watching a video of an Antifa member being violently assaulted by Trump supporters.

"Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It's not how white men fight. Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they'd hit him harder, kill him," the message read in part. A representative for Carlson said he had no comment in response to the text.

Tucker was blindsided by his sudden dismissal after years at the network, sources claimed. "Tucker was a poster boy for all of Fox's problems and had to go," said a network insider.

Meanwhile, Fox News has also sent a cease and desist letter to Media Matters in response to stories posted by the liberal watchdog group with leaked footage of Carlson.

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As he navigates his career post-"retirement," Carlson has hired big-time attorney Bryan Freedman to negotiate the terms of his departure with Fox.