Fox Business Just Dumped Its Highest-Rated Show: Dobbs

Network cancels Lou Dobbs' show same week that $2.7B Smartmatic lawsuit names him
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 6, 2021 6:30 AM CST
Dobbs 'Benched' at Fox After $2.7B Smartmatic Suit
Lou Dobbs speaks at CPAC on Feb. 24, 2017, in Oxon Hill, Md.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Fox Business host Lou Dobbs was named this week in a $2.7 billion lawsuit filed by voting technology company Smartmatic, which accused Dobbs, other Fox anchors, and the parent company itself for helping to spread disinformation about the 2020 election, including the false claim that the election was "stolen" from Donald Trump and handed to Joe Biden. Now, an update on Dobbs' situation, per the New York Times: His top-rated weekday show has been canceled, and his remaining ties with the network seem tenuous. The network isn't offering details on the cancellation, other than noting in a statement that "plans have been in place to launch new formats as appropriate postelection, including on Fox Business" and that the nixing of Dobbs' show, which aired for the last time on Friday, "is part of those planned changes."

The network is said to have had issues with Dobbs before the Smartmatic lawsuit—which also names hosts Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo—but the complaint likely didn't help Dobbs' case. A source confirms Dobbs has been "benched" to CNN, which notes that the host had gained a rep at Fox "for his sycophantic pro-Trump programs." The 75-year-old "remains under contract at Fox News, but he will in all likelihood not appear on the company's networks again," the Los Angeles Times notes. Dobbs has been hosting Lou Dobbs Tonight on Fox for 10 years. Trump, a fan of the show, has responded to the cancellation, noting in a statement to the NYT that "Lou Dobbs ... had a large and loyal following that will be watching closely for his next move, and that following includes me." For now and starting Monday, the show in Dobbs' 5pm and 7pm ET time slot will be called Fox Business Tonight and will be helmed by rotating hosts Jackie DeAngelis and David Asman. (More Lou Dobbs stories.)

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