One of the highest rated US TV hosts Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News, the US media giant has announced. In a statement, Fox News said that the network and Carlson have agreed to “part ways”. His last TV program was Friday, April 21, the statement added. His primetime slot will now be hosted by a series of interim hosts until a permanent replacement is found. The brief two paragraph statement gave no reason for the decision. Carlson was not just a popular evening news program presenter, but also a historically influential one. His shows frequently set the agenda for conservatives and, by extension, the Republican Party, and he was one of the left’s top villains The announcement comes just days after Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit from the voting machine company Dominion over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. News of Carlson’s departure was also announced on-air by Fox News’ Harris Faulkner, who thanked him “for his service to the network”. In the lawsuit, Dominion argued that its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims its machines were rigged against now-former president Donald Trump. The case prompted disclosures of text messages that showed Carlson’s private views contrasted with his on-air output. His show, which aired in the coveted 20:00 to 21:00 EST slot, was cited repeatedly in court documents by Dominion’s attorneys in their claim some of its output was defamatory. Additionally, Fox is also facing a lawsuit filed in March by former booker Abby Grossberg in which she accused him of “vile sexist stereotypes”. Carlson’s program made up four of the top ten rated programs on US cable TV, according to Nielson data for the week March 27 to April 2. He was Fox News’ top rated host, with more than three million viewers tuning in on an average night. Carlson interviewed Trump two weeks ago, even after disclosures in the Dominion case showed Carlson had privately said he “hated” the ex-president. The interview netted nearly 7 million viewers, a figure rarely seen in the world of US cable news. He also interviewed Twitter CEO Elon Musk during what would become his final week on Fox News. His departure appears to have been sudden and came without the usual farewell that might be expected from a long-serving presenter. A video shared on Twitter by journalist Aaron Rupar appears to show Carlson ending his show on Friday with the words “we’ll be back on Monday”. Carlson first joined Fox as a contributor in 2009 before becoming a co-host of the “Fox and Friends Weekend” show between 2012 and 2016, the year he began hosting the “Tucker Carlson Show”. Another cable TV host, CNN’s Don Lemon, also announced on Monday that he had been “terminated” by CNN after 17 years, just hours after appearing on its recently relaunched morning show. The embattled host had come under intense public criticism earlier this year for remarks about Nikki Haley, running for the Republican presidential nomination. — BBC