Fox News host Tucker Carlson has come under fire after audio recordings resurfaced of him referring to women as “extremely primitive” — among other comments that are being labeled as misogynist and disturbing.
The tapes, put out Sunday by watchdog group Media Matters for America, are recordings of Carlson from 2006 to 2011 when he’d call into the nationally-syndicated The Bubba the Love Sponge Show.
On the tapes, the TV host said that Warren Jeffs, who is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of felony child sexual assault for aiding an underage marriage, “is in prison because he’s weird and unpopular and he has a different lifestyle that other people find creepy.”
“Look, just to make it absolutely clear. I am not defending underage marriage at all. I just don’t think it’s the same thing exactly as pulling a child from a bus stop and sexually assaulting that child,” Carlson added.
During an October 2009 conversation about boarding schools — where Carlson’s daughter was enrolled at the time, Bubba said, “these little girls start experiment around, next thing you know, you know, you got a lesbian on your hands.”
Carlson replied, “If it weren’t my daughter I would love that scenario.”
The host also shared his views on women and weakness in a separate interview on the show.
“Women hate you when they do you wrong and you put up with it,” he said. “Because they hate weakness. They’re like dogs that way. They can smell it on you…I mean, I love women, but they’re extremely primitive, they’re basic, they’re not that hard to understand.”
Instead of apologizing or discussing his comments, Carlson released a statement inviting critics and fans alike to check out his Fox News evening program if they want to “know what I think.”
“Media Matters caught me saying something naughty on a radio show more than a decade ago,” he told Newsweek. “Rather than express the usual ritual contrition, how about this: I’m on television every weeknight live for an hour. If you want to know what I think, you can watch. Anyone who disagrees with my views is welcome to come on and explain why.”
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