Tucker Carlson: Roger Ailes Was ‘Really a Great and Wise Man’

Fox News host Tucker Carlson heaped praise on late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes on Wednesday night, calling him a “great” man despite the fact that he resigned in disgrace following allegations he’d sexually harassed female employees for decades.

With Thursday being Carlson’s 50th birthday, Fox News correspondent Ed Henry brought on network colleagues Laura Ingraham and Brit Hume to surprise Carlson with a cake and balloons, and the celebration quickly turned into a nostalgic chat about the Fox News star's time at CNN during the early 2000s, when he said he “was afraid of Roger Ailes.”

“Who ended up hiring you, right?” Hume asked.

“Yes,” Carlson replied. “Who I wound up loving. He was really a great and wise man.”

In July 2016, former Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson (no relation to Tucker) filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, alleging that she’d been fired for declining the Fox News chief’s advances. Soon after, several more accounts of Ailes’ sexual harassment and misconduct were reported.

After New York magazine reported that then-Fox News star Megyn Kelly had told investigators Ailes also made advances towards her and Ailes was given an ultimatum by the Murdoch family, he resigned from the network. Following his resignation, more allegations came to light, and Kelly detailed his alleged behavior in a book that was released in November 2016.

Ingraham, meanwhile, reacted to Tucker’s praise for their late boss by applauding him for being one of the “great people at Fox News who support what women are trying to do in the advancement of young careers.”