Fox News personality Tucker Carlson was resoundingly mocked after he appeared rather taken aback by a reproductive rights activist raising a middle finger during a protest.
Carlson told his viewers that he was about to broadcast “live pictures” of a protest outside the home of Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito in protest of the leaked draft opinion he authored that indicated the Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization will move to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that protects a person's right to choose reproductive healthcare without excessive government restriction.
Carlsom criticized the protest, saying that this was “what it looks like when you write an opinion the mob doesn’t like" just seconds before the live footage featured a woman speaking into a megaphone who raised her middle finger to her audience.
A visibly taken aback Carlson shook his head and said:
"Let’s turn that off, too much.”
You can see Carlson's reaction in the video below.
Tucker: *sees middle finger* Let\u2019s turn that off. It\u2019s too muchpic.twitter.com/AS82Ydyahw— Acyn (@Acyn) 1652142052
While it was not clear whether the woman knew she was being filmed by Fox News, the incident sparked viewers to criticize Carlson, who recently released a "documentary" that aims to answer just why traditional ideals of masculinity are on the decline.
Others expressed their anger at the fact that he seems more offended by the middle finger than by the mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters that attacked the United States Capitol.
Carlson has been harshly mocked in response.
Imagine what he'd think of the Jan 6th rioters beating cops with fla... Oh wait.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— Student855 (@Student855) 1652191536
oh look. puny, insecure lil brat who hurls nasty lies at people daily is preaching decorum and politeness from his racist, sexist perch. if it weren't for bad faith, he'd have no faith at all.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— kath mc (@kath mc) 1652176352
This is "too much" but what happened on Jan. 6 was not??https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— Darlene Pantaleo (@Darlene Pantaleo) 1652203763
Remember, try to overthrow the government? Legitimate political discourse. Angry about rolling back women's rights? Literally violence!https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— Bitch Pudding (@Bitch Pudding) 1652226158
Tucker says he has been giving us lessons in masculinity. They are unusual.\n\nHe takes a break from that to show an abortion protest, saying it tells how threatening the protests have become.\n\nSure enough he is threatened right down to his stocking feet.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— Burr Deming (@Burr Deming) 1652184500
But yet Tucker approves \u201clet\u2019s go Brandon\u201d chant?https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— David Sykes (@David Sykes) 1652185568
A man tanning his junk is a-ok, but a small middle finger from a woman hand and he\u2019s clutching for his pearls and heading for the fainting couch.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— The Kwizatz Adirondack (@The Kwizatz Adirondack) 1652188420
Poor Tuck-Tuck. Can't stand the middle finger being raised. Yet, he wants his male fans to irradiate their balls. What a silly man.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026— Padme Is Godless and Vaccinated! (@Padme Is Godless and Vaccinated!) 1652188842
Tucker: *sees middle finger* Let\u2019s turn that off. It\u2019s too muchpic.twitter.com/AS82Ydyahw— Acyn (@Acyn) 1652142052
"It's too much," says the guy who's currently airing a special featuring naked muscle men scorching their balls. https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1523820329348395008\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/qJqxstzOhg— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1652152548
Last month, 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.
All of this footage is set to the instantly recognizable musical theme “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” which most film viewers know from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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."
