Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs’ program
Fox News on Friday canceled its popular program hosted by Lou Dobbs, an outspoken fan of former President Donald Trump who questioned the integrity of the November election.
Dobbs, 75, was named in a lawsuit filed against Fox News on Thursday by Smartmatic, a voting technology company. Smartmatic accused the network of sowing false claims about the election.
“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 — this is part of those planned changes,” Fox News said in a statement.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the cancellation. Sources told the Times that the network was considering cutting Dobbs’ show prior to the emergence of legal issues with Smartmatic.
Fox News said in a statement: “We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit in court.”
“Lou Dobbs Tonight” appeared on Fox Business Network at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily, drawing strong ratings.
Fox News said the program will now be called “Fox Business Tonight,” and a new program will be announced soon.
Jackie DeAngelis will serve as interim host on Monday and Tuesday, and David Asman will hold the same role Wednesday through Friday, Fox News said.