Rupert Murdoch Told Son Lachlan Murdoch to Fire Tucker Carlson During Secret Tarmac Meeting in D.C. Last Thursday
Lachlan Murdoch told Fox News boss Suzanne Scott to lower the boom on his good pal Tucker Carlson after a terse tête-à-tête with dad Rupert at Dulles International Airport in Virginia last Thursday, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
Both Murdochs had been in the Beltway in anticipation of the Dominion Voting Systems trial at a Wilmington, Delaware, courtroom — both were expected to testify — before the case was sensationally settled on the eve of the trial.
RadarOnline.com has learned Rupert, 92, spoke with son Lachlan, 51, in the wake of the $787 million settlement with Dominion after their prized asset, Fox News, aired debunked election-fraud claims about the voting-technology firm.
Carlson was also facing unrelated legal claims of sexism, antisemitism, and harassment.
In the tarmac meeting, Rupert advised Lachlan they had “no other option” but to terminate Carlson, who had been negotiating a hundred-million-dollar-plus contract extension that would have seen him remain at the network through 2029, at the least.
Rupert then flew his private jet back to New York and landed at Teterboro airport in New Jersey late on Thursday night.
Lachlan flew from Dulles to Los Angeles before returning to his native Australia, where he spends most of his time.
It wasn’t until Lachlan, the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Corporation, was situated back at his home in Sydney that he informed Scott via phone — Friday night — that she needed to inform Carlson on Monday morning.
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“Lachlan told Suzanne to keep it brief and if needed say the decision came from above,” said a source.
“There wasn’t any discussion or debate between Lachlan and Suzanne. There wasn’t much discussion between Rupert and Lachlan, either.
“The reality was Rupert was furious over Carlson's coverage of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.”
As we previously reported, Carlson — host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” long one of Fox’s top-rated programs — falsely considered himself a “protected species” because of his unusually close bond with Lachlan.
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But he had fallen out of favor with Rupert, who bristled when his ex-fiancé called the star host a “messenger from God.”
A source told RadarOnline.com: “Age and experience have not made Rupert — and his heir apparent Lachlan — any less ruthless.
“This is the definition of a quick kill and clean cut. Equal parts stealth-like and mystifying. Without fear or favor — and no time for a struggle.”