Fox News personality Tucker Carlson was accused of misogyny after he blamed mass shootings on "mostly women" and their "lecturing" during a segment on his program.
Carlson also issued a defense of the gunman who has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in connection with the mass shooting during an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
He said men like the shooter react violently because women never stop "lecturing them about their so-called privilege" and also suggested marijuana legalization and "endless psychotropic drugs" contributed to the shooting.
Carlson failed to mention his own rhetoric inspired White nationalists, most recently a mass shooter who killed 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York and cited Carlson in his manifesto.
You can hear what Carlson said in the video below.
\u201cTucker Carlson just blamed the 4th of July mass shooting on \u201cmostly women\u201d who \u201cnever stop lecturing [men] about their so-called male privilege.\u201d He also blamed \u201csocial media, porn, video games,\u201d and \u201cgovernment-endorsed weed.\u201d (h/t @acyn)\u201d— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen) 1657067315
Carlson said:
"Look at Robert 'Bobby' Crimo. Would you sell a gun to that guy? Does he seem like a nutcase? Of course he does. So, why didn't anyone raise an alarm?"
"Well, maybe because he didn't stand out, maybe because there's a lot of young men in America who suddenly look and act a lot like this guy. That's not an attack, it's just true."
"Like Crimo, they inhabit a solitary fantasy world of social media, porn, and video games. They are high on government endorsed weed. 'Smoke some more! It's good for you.'"
"They're numbed by the endless psychotropic drugs that are handed out at every school in the country by crackpots posing as counselors."
"And of course, they are angry. They know that their lives will not be better than their parents, they'll be worse. That's all but guaranteed, they know that -- they're not that stupid."
"And yet the authorities in their lives -- mostly women -- never stops lecturing them about their so-called privilege. 'You're male! You're privileged.'"
"Imagine that. Try to imagine an unhealthier, unhappier life than that. So, a lot of young men in America are going nuts. Are you surprised?"
The overwhelming majority of mass shooters are White males with a history of violence who often publicized their misogyny in manifestos posted online.
For example, Elliot Rodger, who orchestrated the 2014 Isla Vista killings, infamously posted a YouTube video in which he explained that he wanted to punish women for rejecting him, and sexually active men because he envied them.
Rodgers' manifesto, which was published online, details his frustration over his inability to find a girlfriend as well his hatred of women and contempt for couples, particularly interracial couples.
While Crimo's motive is still unclear, the investigation is ongoing and questions have arisen over why he was able to purchase guns despite his previous encounters with police, including one incident when officers seized knives from him after a relative reported that Crimo planned to "kill everyone."
Carlson was harshly criticized for his remarks.
\u201cThis is evil, at least when elder Boomers and silents were blaming video games it was a scary technology they didn't understand. That's a tale as old as time. \n\nTucker knows they're not the issue, he's doing this to deflect.\u201d— j\ud83c\udf69e \ud83c\udf3b (@j\ud83c\udf69e \ud83c\udf3b) 1657116282
\u201cTucker\u2019s just mad that his key demographic keeps getting arrested for mass murder.\u201d— Hal Sparks (@Hal Sparks) 1657122067
\u201cAhh yes, the root cause of mass shootings\u2026feminism!\u201d— mads (@mads) 1657125825
\u201cthis seems more like tucker rationalizing to himself why he\u2019d do a shooting\u201d— Cookie (@Cookie) 1657111338
\u201cFirst Roe, now he's inciting more violence against women. #Tucker is a dangerous man.\u201d— Patti Piatt (@Patti Piatt) 1657110330
\u201cWow the war against women took a major overt leap on fox tv today. All women who support any republicans wake up ffs\u201d— BethRegoStednitz\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b (@BethRegoStednitz\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b) 1657107059
\u201cBan assault rifles. \n\nAnd ban Tucker Carlson. He kills too by pushing Covid disinformation, denigrating women, opposing viable healthcare and defending murderers who use assault rifles.\u201d— John Oberlin (@John Oberlin) 1657107495
\u201cHe seems to have forgotten to blame the shooter, easy availability of assault rifles, and his own rhetoric which encourages this type of action.\u201d— Lindy (@Lindy) 1657116658
\u201cWomen having any positions of authority in society is why we have mass shooters according to this guy who hates women because he hated his mom.\nhttps://t.co/vOKsvoQF0R\u201d— MadDogPAC (@MadDogPAC) 1657128590
Carlson has previously devoted significant time on his program to railing against what he perceives as a calculated nationwide effort to attack masculinity.
In April, Carlson released the trailer for The End of Men, a film which starts off warning viewers about dropping testosterone levels, includes footage of shirtless white men wrestling, doing push-ups, chopping wood, firing guns, and even, yes, lying naked while getting their groin tanned.
The content of the trailer for The End of Men is particularly odd given Carlson's long record of homophobic commentary, which has received more coverage in recent months due to his repeated attacks against Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he has mocked for taking paternity leave and "trying to figure out how to breastfeed."
But the notion that masculinity is being attacked–namely by the left wing–is a popular one among Republicans like Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who last year accused "the Left" of hurting "the future of the American man" and went on to claim that the "deconstruction of America begins with and depends on the deconstruction of American men."
Republican politicians have also expressed misogynistic sentiment against women for their political activity, notably Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, who was heavily criticized after he referred to pro-choice activists as "over-educated, under-loved millennials" and suggested they're only angry about a rightward shift in reproductive rights because they can't get matches on dating apps.
