Tucker Carlson Speaks Out After Leaving Fox News

A "gleeful" Tucker Carlson is already busy celebrating his premature retirement from Fox News after his surprise ouster from the network earlier this week.

Reached by The Daily Mail outside of his multimillion-dollar Florida vacation home, the conservative firebrand and longtime fixture of primetime told the outlet that his first few days of retirement are "going great so far" in what appear to be Carlson's first public comments since his sudden exit from the network.

"I haven't eaten dinner with my wife on a weeknight in seven years," he told the outlet, later adding he was "blindsided" by the announcement.

Representatives for Carlson could not be reached for comment.

So far, it isn't exactly clear what led to Carlson's departure in what some described as one of the wildest days in the history of cable news. At the end of what was to be his final show last Friday, Carlson said he would be back on the air the following Monday. And as of Monday morning, the network was still running teasers for that evening's show.

Some speculated the dismissal was tied to the network's recent loss in a $778 million defamation lawsuit tied to the network's promotion of unfounded conspiracy theories about voting machines manufactured by the company Dominion, which attorneys for former President Donald Trump claimed were systemically rigged to deny him the election.

Others said they believed it was because Carlson's views on issues like the war in Ukraine and white nationalism diverged from the company's editorial line. One other theory to gain steam during the week was Carlson was fired after directly attacked his employer in an April 19 monologue about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, alleging Fox News and other networks were in the pocket of big pharma for promoting it.

While Carlson didn't offer the Mail an explanation of why he was let go, he also declined to provide any theories as to where he or his longtime producer Justin Wells—who was also fired Monday—might end up next. Pressed on his future, the Mail reported, Carlson replied "Appetizers plus entrée," before speeding off in a blue golf cart.

It's unlikely that Carlson—one of the highest-rated figures on television during his time at Fox—will stay unemployed much longer. His website, as of Tuesday, was already teasing the possibility of Carlson being back on the air soon, while former Fox host Glenn Beck and the Daily Wire's Jeremy Boreing have both said publicly they would be interested in offering Carlson a position at their respective companies.

The Mail reported Carlson is "unlikely" to make any significant moves while Hollywood attorney Bryan Freedman—who also represents fired CNN anchors Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon, who was let go the same day as Carlson—negotiates the conservative host's exit package with network executives.

However, some already have theories on where the flamethrowing conservative host could end up next: according to unnamed sources quoted by entertainment tabloid TMZ, both Carlson and Lemon could potentially end up at Cuomo's new home on NewsNation, a relatively new station that started running a 24-hour programming schedule earlier this week.

Newsweek has reached out to Freedman's office via email for comment.