Rupert Murdoch Called Sean Hannity a 'Moron' and Nearly Fired the Fox News Star Over $787 Million Dominion Settlement, Bombshell Book Claims
Sept. 20 2023, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch allegedly called Sean Hannity a “moron” and “r-----ed” during the defamation lawsuit brought against the network by Dominion Voting Systems, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Murdoch also reportedly considered axing Hannity from the network before settling the defamation lawsuit with Dominion for $787 million earlier this year.
In a sensational development to come months after Fox and Dominion settled the messy defamation lawsuit outside of court in April, new alleged details have emerged regarding what took place behind the scenes during the devastating legal proceedings.
According to author Michael Wolff in his upcoming book The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty, Murdoch called Hannity a number of controversial names after Dominion sued the network for $1.6 billion.
“When Murdoch was brought reports of Hannity’s on and off-air defense of Fox’s postelection coverage, he perhaps seemed to justify his anchor: ‘He’s r-----ed, like most Americans,’” Wolff alleged in one passage of the new book, according to Daily Beast.
Also surprising was the author’s claim that Murdoch nearly fired Hannity from Fox News in an effort to appease the voting machine company before the two parties ultimately settled the matter out of court for almost $800 million.
Lachlan Murdoch, the elder Murdoch’s son, allegedly considered using Hannity’s suspected relationship with Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt as the reasoning behind Hannity’s potential firing.
Meanwhile, Wolff also used his new book to share a number of sensational anecdotes regarding the Murdoch clan that occurred over the course of the past few years.
Another alleged story involved Jerry Hall, Murdoch’s latest ex-wife, calling the Fox News owner a “homophobe” during a vacation in Saint Barthélemy in 2019.
“Rupert, why are you such a homophobe?” Hall allegedly shouted at Murdoch during a dinner with friends. “You’re such a homophobe.”
“He’s such an old man,” she added during an aside to her friends.
Wolff further claimed that Murdoch’s son Lachlan was not a fan of then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Lachlan allegedly disliked Trump so much that he purchased toilet paper printed with pictures of Trump’s face.
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“In the run-up to the 2016 election, the bathrooms at the Mandeville house featured toilet paper with Trump’s face, reported visitors with relief and satisfaction,” Wolff wrote.
“He told people that his wife and children cried when Trump was elected.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Wolff also detailed an alleged incident that took place during a lunch between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Tucker Carlson, and their wives earlier this year.
According to Wolff, DeSantis “kicked” Carlson and Carlson's wife’s dog during the lunch at their Boca Grande, Florida home in April.
"The Carlsons are dog people with four spaniels, the progeny of other spaniels they have had before, who sleep in their bed," another excerpt from Wolff’s book read. "DeSantis pushed the dog under the table. Had he kicked the dog?"