Tucker Carlson Slammed for Attacking Survivor of Pulse Nightclub Massacre (Video)
GLAAD blasts the Fox News host for a segment criticizing Pulse nightclub survivor Brandon Wolf
Jon Levine | May 1, 2018 @ 12:05 PM
Last Updated: May 1, 2018 @ 1:08 PM
Tucker Carlson is facing heat from GLAAD after the Fox News host dedicated a segment of his show Monday evening to attacking Pulse nightclub survivor, Brandon Wolf.
The gay rights organization said the Fox News host’s segment on Wolf led to “death threats” against the survivor.
“Last night Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson laughed and smiled during a discussion about the Pulse nightclub shooter and in doing so, unleashed a fury of online hate against Brandon Wolf,” the organization said in a blog post Tuesday. “Within minutes of Carlson’s on-air attack, Brandon’s social feeds were populated with Carlson viewers who wished violence and harm on Brandon.”
“Now he is receiving death threats from Fox News Channel viewers and others on social media,” they added.
Wolf earned Carlson’s ire for an appearance he made on the Saturday morning episode of the MSNBC program “AM Joy.” The segment focused on old blog posts in which host Joy Reid made the number of disparaging comments towards LGBT individuals.
In the segment — designed ostensibly around the premise of exonerating Reid of responsibility for her past statements — Wolf used a bit of Mike Pence “whataboutism” to put Reid’s comments in context. On set, Wolf said “homophobic psychopaths” were running the country and suggested that if Mike Pence ever became president of the United States he would put gay people in “concentration camps.”
The harsh critique — which raised eyebrows in conservative media — went uncorrected and unchallenged by Reid on set.
On his program, Carlson, and noted LGBT troll Chadwick Moore, gleefully filled that void.
‘It’s almost become a kind of a depraved fantasy on their part. They actually believe this could happen, that Mike Pence wants to do this,” said Moore. “I feel very bad for Mike Pence. He handles these attacks with such grace and such decorum. I really don’t think that there’s anything homophobic about Mike Pence.”
“Pulse nightclub was not attacked by the radical Amish,” Moore continued, as Carlson grinned. “The person who attacked Pulse nightclub did not pledge his allegiance to the Episcopalian caliphate.”
In statement provided to us after publication, Carlson defended the segment and offered a swipe at TheWrap.
“Brandon Wolf told MSNBC viewers that if Mike Pence became president, he would put gay people in concentration camps. That is false, and I said so,” he said. “TheWrap’s headline is dishonest. I didn’t ‘attack a survivor of the Pulse nightclub massacre.’ I fact-checked a talking head on Joy Reid’s show who was lying. That’s still allowed, I think.”
Watch above.
Bill O'Reilly Sexual Harassment Scandal: Complete Timeline of Events (Photos)
“The O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly, the most-watched and most profitable personality on cable news, is officially out at Fox News. Here’s everything you need to know about the Fox profit machine’s fall from grace amid sexual harassment scandals.
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This year, O’Reilly has continued to dominate the ratings, ranking as the No. 1 most-watched cable news host — a position he’s held for more than a decade. Research firm Kantar Media estimated “The O’Reilly Factor” earned $446 million from advertisers between 2014 and 2016. See the 2017 cable rankings here.
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2004: In O'Reilly's first public run-in with sexual harassment claims, the host settled a lawsuit filed by his former producer, Andrea Mackris, according to a Washington Post report. The payout in the settlement was not disclosed.
Fox News
January 2017: The current scandal begins to bubble when the New York Times reports that Fox News and O'Reilly secretly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit in January. Juliet Huddy, a former Fox News employee, alleged that in 2011, O'Reilly tried to derail her career after she turned down sexual advances he made on her.
Fox News
April 1, 2017: The New York Times reported that O’Reilly and Fox News have settled sexual harassment and verbal abuse claims with five different women aimed at the host over the years. The two settlements mentioned above had been previously reported, but three were unknown. The payouts to women to end their suits total $13 million. Read more here.
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April 1: In addition to the settlements, two other women allege sexual harassment against O’Reilly. Former Fox host Andrea Tantaros alleged O’Reilly sexually harassed her in a lawsuit against former Fox CEO Roger Ailes. Radio host Wendy Walsh also came forward to allege O’Reilly made sexual advances on her when she was a guest on his show in 2013, and reneged on a promise to get her a job at the network after she rebuffed him.
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April 4: As the scandal grew, O'Reilly sponsors began to jump ship. Eleven O'Reilly sponsors exit the show, including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, BMW, GlaxoSmithKline, Allstate, T. Rowe Price and Constant Contact. Read the full story here.
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April 5: Donald Trump supports O'Reilly, saying the host "shouldn't have settled." Trump also said "I don't think Bill did anything wrong." Read the rest of the story here.
Fox News
April 5: Even more sponsors pulled their support for "The O'Reilly Factor." The advertisers jumping ship include Lexus, Credit Karma, Bayer, TrueCar, Wayfair, Orkin, Society for Human Resources Management, CFP Board and Coldwell Banker. The total number of sponsors departing the show now totaled at least 20. Read more here.
April 6: As more advertisers pulled out of "The O'Reilly Factor," two sponsors told TheWrap their ads were aired by Fox News against their wishes. Both MyPillow and Crowne Plaza said their ads were aired despite instructions to Fox not to do so. Read more here.
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April 7: Fox apparently stands behind O’Reilly despite sexual harassment allegations, and women at the network are reportedly “in anguish” that O’Reilly went “unrebuked.” Meanwhile, the number of advertisers who have pulled out from “The O’Reilly Factor” climbed to 60 or more. Read the full story here.
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April 7: Angie’s List, an advertiser that vocally stood by O’Reilly through the scandal, bowed to public boycott pressure and dropped its “Factor” sponsorship. Read the story here.
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April 8: "Saturday Night Live" took aim at the O'Reilly scandal, while sending up Trump's support for the host. Alec Baldwin played both O'Reilly and Trump on the show. Watch the sketch here.
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April 9: Fox News pledged to investigate the sexual harassment claims against O'Reilly, including Walsh's. Read the full story here.
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April 11: Fox News aired what might have been the final episode of “The O’Reilly Factor.” The April 11 episode is O’Reilly’s last before a vacation he said he scheduled in the fall, running until April 24. But reports suggested O’Reilly may not return to the network when his vacation ends. Read more here.
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April 13: In a letter congratulating Fox News on recent successes, Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch failed to mention O’Reilly or the ongoing scandal. Read the full story here.
April 18: The Wall Street Journal, a publication owned by the Murdoch family (who also own Fox news), reported the network was looking to cut ties with O'Reilly before he returned from his scheduled vacation on April 24. Read the full story here.
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April 19: Women’s advocacy group UltraViolet urges Fox to “stop protecting sexual harassers” and fire O’Reilly in an online ad. Read more here.
UltraViolet
April 19: Fox News parent company 20th Century Fox releases a statement that O'Reilly will not return to the network. Read the story here.
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Everything you need to know about Bill O’Reilly’s ouster at Fox News
“The O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly, the most-watched and most profitable personality on cable news, is officially out at Fox News. Here’s everything you need to know about the Fox profit machine’s fall from grace amid sexual harassment scandals.