SO LONG, LOU

Fox News Cancels ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight’ Following Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit

The vociferous pro-Trump host spread conspiracies about a stolen election long after they were debunked.

Fox News has cancelled “Lou Dobbs Tonight” and is expected to fully sever ties with the host, the Los Angeles Times reports. Dobbs’ show, which airs at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. every night, will play its final episode this Friday. Hosts Jackie DeAngelis and David Asman will fill in for him on a new program titled “Fox Business Tonight,” and Dobbs himself is not slated to appear as a commentator on other Fox shows. Dobbs, who declined to comment on his show’s end to CNN, has remained one of former President Donald Trump’s most ardent and vocal supporters, parroting lies of widespread voter fraud and a stolen election long after they had been debunked. Fox said in a statement that the cancellation was part of “planned changes.” Trump said of the host after the news broke, “Lou Dobbs is and was great. Nobody loves America more than Lou. He had a large and loyal following that will be watching closely for his next move, and that following includes me.”

Dobbs’ conspiracy-mongering has landed him and his employer in boiling water: Smartmatic, a voting machines manufacturer, filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday seeking $2.7 billion in damages against Dobbs, Fox, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, and Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. Fox said it will “vigorously defend” its election coverage against the “meritless” suit in court. Fox’s ratings fell behind rivals CNN and MSNBC for the first time in two decades in January 2021.