Tucker Carlson loses 6 major advertisers after criticizing Black Lives Matter


Following a series of inflammatory segments slamming everyone from anti-racism protesters to Sesame Street, Fox News host Tucker Carlson has lost six major advertisers within the last 48 hours.
Disney, T-Mobile, SmileDirectClub, Papa John's, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, and Vari have all said they will no longer advertise on Tucker Carlson Tonight, Media Matters for America reports.
Carlson — who has said white supremacy in America is a "hoax" and called the protests against police brutality an "ancient battle" between "thugs" and "normal people" — declared on Monday that the Black Lives Matter movement "is definitely not about black lives. Remember that when they come for you, and at this rate, they will." Amid outcry, a Fox News spokesperson said Carlson's warning "was clearly referring to Democratic leaders and inner-city politicians."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The next night, Carlson directed his ire at Sesame Street, saying it was wrong for Elmo to learn black people are treated differently in the United States, because children will take away that "America is a very bad place and it's your fault."
The first company to announce it would no longer advertise on Tucker Carlson Tonight was T-Mobile. CEO Mike Sievert was asked by a Twitter user on Tuesday if Carlson's message was one T-Mobile could support, and Sievert responded, "It definitely is not. Bye-bye Tucker Carlson! #BlackLivesMatter." In a statement, a Fox News spokeswoman told The Guardian that "all national dollars/ads were moved to other programs, and there has not been any national money lost."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky mission
Talking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Crossword: August 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year