A report from The Daily Signal Monday claimed that Fox News has policies in place that allows transgender employees to use the restroom of their gender identity and not their biological sex, while also requiring employees to refer to their trans colleagues by their preferred name and pronouns. It didn’t take former CNN media reporter Brian Stelter long to connect former Fox News host Tucker Carlson with the leak.
In a thread on Twitter, Stelter alleged that “it’s not a coincidence” that the leak happened a month after Carlson’s departure from the network.
“Tucker Carlson’s camp continues to exert pressure on Fox (sending a legal warning, alleging breach of contract, announcing a Twitter show, perhaps leaking unflattering info) while Carlson seeks an exit deal that would free him up to compete with Fox directly,” Stelter wrote.
Stelter continued by noting that if the story “picks up enough steam across the rest of the right-wing media, it could drive a wedge between Fox and its base”. Stelter pointed to the encapsulation from The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh — who claimed Fox News “needs to get the full Bud Light treatment” — as a case-in-point to the potential divide from the cable channel and staunch conservative supporters.
In response, Walsh said he isn’t driving a wedge between Fox and their base. “They did that entirely on their own,” The Daily Wire host said.
The report of the policy at the cable giant was widely panned by conservative commentators, arguing that the news is further proof the network has “gone woke”.
“Fox’s viewers think that Fox shares their values,” Walsh told The Daily Signal. “And it’s very clear that that’s just not the case. Gender ideology is as far radical Left as you can possibly go. They have embraced radical leftism in its most extreme form.
“There’s no daylight at all between Fox News and MSNBC when it comes to gender,” Walsh concluded. “And I think that’s something that Fox’s viewers need to know.”
However, Fox News has defended itself by saying it “is compliant with all Human Rights laws mandated by the cities and states in which we operate, including New York and California.”
