The Trump Administration keeps on churning out scandals, and the news media keeps on reporting them to a horrified public.
Fox News, however, has been doubling down on its unwavering support for Trump.
Creators of some of the Fox television network’s most successful scripted shows have had enough, and are voicing their outrage.
Recently, one of Fox News’ most outlandish personalities, Tucker Carlson, told his viewers to simply believe the opposite of whatever other news sources tell them.
Carlson has voiced white supremacist conspiracy theories and other abhorrent material in the past, but this instruction crossed a line with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.
On Twitter, MacFarlane characterized Carlson’s segment: “In other words, don’t think critically, don’t consult multiple news sources, and in general, don’t use your brain. Just blindly obey Fox News.”
That about sums it up.
“This is fringe s–t,” MacFarlane tweeted, referring to Carlson’s clip. “And it’s business like this that makes me embarrassed to work for this company.”
He doesn’t directly work for Fox News, but … close enough.
We’ll explain in a moment.
Modern Family creator Steve Levitan chimed in.
“Let me officially join Seth MacFarlane,” Levitan tweeted. “In saying I’m disgusted to work at a company that has anything whatsoever to do with @FoxNews.”
It sounds like these sentiments had been building up for months or even years.
“This bulls–t is the opposite of what #ModernFamily stands for,” Levitan added.
He does intend to see this series through to the end, but he suggested that he might not choose to continue working with the network after that.
Time will tell.
Paul Feig, a producer, has similar sentiments.
“I have made two films for 20th Century Fox and love the people in the movie and TV divisions,” Feig tweets.
Feig continues: “But I too cannot condone the support their news division promotes toward the immoral and abusive policies and actions taken by this current administration toward immigrant children.”
Filmaker Judd Apatow makes it clear that, while he knows that many people need to keep their jobs, he believes that those who can should choose to avoid working for Fox in any capacity.
“We all choose who to work with,” Apatow writes. “I understand why that is easier for some than others but many powerful people are powerful enough to speak up to their bosses at a moment like this.”
The whole world is watching. And so is history.
And so, by the way, are advertisers. Many of whom are reportedly growing uneasy with not only Fox News, but other Fox properties.
We know that entangled corporate holdings can be a little complicated and that the average person probably doesn’t think about them all that much.
(Aside from the occassional line of “Nestle is monopolizing vital water resources like they’re James Bond villains? Don’t they make chocolate?”)
Fox News, 20th Century Fox, and everything within the Fox Entertainment Group is owned and controlled by 21st Century Fox.
(So while MacFarlane and Levitan don’t work for Fox News, they work for the same people … and clearly, that association has gotten to them)
21st Century Fox is owned and chaired by Rupert Murdoch.
During the mid-1990s, Murdoch created Fox News. He hired Roger Ailes, a former Republican Party media consultant, to run it.
Ah, the infamous Fox News.
The self-described news network has been broadly criticized for a perceived conservative bias.
During the Presidencies of George W. Bush and Donald Trump, the network has been criticized by many as functioning as state-run television.
During the Obama administration, in contrast, the network aired segments in which various mouthpieces criticized President Obama’s choice in mustard and the color of his suit.
Now, various Trump administration scandals seem to get little to no mention on Fox News while every other network covers them.
Many blame Fox for working to warp the views that older Americans hold about the world and the country.
Tucker Carlson telling his viewers — most of whom are white, conservative, and noteably old — to simply disregard other news sources is deeply toxic, even for Fox News.
