Fox News has canceled Lou Dobbs Tonight and may be cutting ties with longtime host Lou Dobbs in a sudden decision on Friday. The high-rated program on the Fox Business Network will have its final airing on Friday night, with Dobbs likely not appearing on any of Fox’s networks from now on.
Dobbs still has a contract with Fox News but did not appear on the final airing, replaced with David Asman, who will continue as a rotating substitute with Jackie DeAngelis on the new Fox Business Tonight. Dobbs has not been fired from the network and provided no comment as of publication.
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Fox Business suddenly cancels ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ its highest-rated show https://t.co/jaM8Ya3wRX
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 6, 2021
According to the Los Angeles Times, the decision to cancel Dobbs’ show follows election software company Smartmatic filing a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News, Dobbs and fellow hosts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. The company is suing for defamation over claims connected to fraud in the 2020 Election, joining Dominion with legal actions following the November election.
The LA Times adds that the decision to cancel the show and remove Dobbs was reportedly in the works before the lawsuits made headlines. “As we said in October, Fox News Media regularly considers programming changes and plans have been in place to launch new formats as appropriate post-election, including on Fox Business,” a statement from Fox News read. “This is part of those planned changes. A new 5 p.m. program will be announced in the near future.”
Fox News also made it clear that the network stands by its election coverage and will “defend this meritless lawsuit in court.” The network did begin to make changes with its on-air talent in the wake of the election. The changes were reportedly a response to Fox News slipping in ratings behind rival network CNN.
Former President Donald Trump released a statement regarding Dobbs and Fox News to The New York Times. “Lou Dobbs is and was great,” Trump said. “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.”
The end of Dobbs’ tenure on the network removes one of the strongest voices of support of the former president and his election fraud crusade that led to the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill following a “Stop the Steal” rally. The host would also have Trump surrogates Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell on his program, both additional defendants in the Smartmatic lawsuit.
Dobbs joined Fox News in 2011 after his award-winning CNN show was ended in 2009 due to his extreme views on immigration. The Los Angeles Times adds that his arrival on Fox News in 2009 was marked with questions about the citizenship and birth certificate of President Barack Obama. Before it was canceled, Lou Dobbs Tonight “averaged around 300,000 viewers” per night while bleeding advertisers who wanted nohing to do with Dobbs’ thinking.
