Fox News host Jesse Watters thought he was telling the romantic tale of how he wooed his wife on a recent episode of his show. But to many online, the story seemed a lot more predatory than sweet.
In the segment, which aired on Fox's The Five, Watters told his co-hosts about how he courted his wife, a young producer on his show at the time who is 14 years his junior, by sabotaging her car. Watters was still married at the time.
Watters said he deflated his current wife Emma's tires so he could offer her a ride home. The woman was 25 years old at the time and worked for Watters.
The "romantic" ploy struck even Watters' Fox News co-hosts as creepy.
See the segment below.
Jesse Watters jokes about how he courted a woman 14 years his junior. He let the air out of her tires so he could offer her a ride home. He leaves out that he was married at the time. This is some stalker nonsense. She also worked for him. It's a Fox News love storypic.twitter.com/ge9zZ2vMMH— Decoding Fox News (@Decoding Fox News) 1650152225
As Watters described it:
“When I was trying to get Emma to date me, the first thing I did was let the air out of her tires."
"She couldn’t go anywhere. She needed a lift, I said, ‘You need a lift?’ She hopped right in the car.”
His Fox co-hosts were visibly shocked and when your courting methods even set off alarms for Fox News hosts, that should tell you something.
Greg Gutfeld, not exactly known for his progressivism, exclaimed Watters is "basically the Zodiac Killer," referencing the infamous serial killer who terrorized San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s.
In response, Watters' other co-host Jeannine Pirro asked him if he had used this particular trick before on other women.
Watters simply smiled and responded:
"It was a happy ending... It works like a charm."
Watters and the producer, Emma, were married in 2020 after beginning an affair that lead to his first wife Noelle filing for divorce in 2018. Watters had two children with Noelle while he was letting the air out of his subordinate's tires to get a date.
On Twitter, many people didn't see the romance in Watters' story and found it deeply unsettling.
You know how hard it is to come off worse than Greg Gutfeld in a clip?https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1515485452312186887\u00a0\u2026— Stephen Douglas (@Stephen Douglas) 1650289728
Hey 'Emma', This is unequivocally predatory behavior and a crime. Moreover, a guy that lets the air out of your tires in order to manipulate you, so that he gets you alone, *will*, and most likely already has done things far more nefarious.https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1515485452312186887\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Jack Brown (@Dr. Jack Brown) 1650277560
This is creepy and he look like the dude from How I Met Your Mother who did pull creepy, manipulative acts like that.https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1515485452312186887\u00a0\u2026— Tauriq Moosa (@Tauriq Moosa) 1650297007
Creepy predators like this are why my dad taught teenage me to change a tire before he let me have the keys...https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1515485452312186887\u00a0\u2026— Noelle Bivens (@Noelle Bivens) 1650299072
um...wtf?https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1515485452312186887\u00a0\u2026— Bruna (@Bruna) 1650232083
Also this is an actual crime. So law and order is for who exactly?— Akilah Hughes (@Akilah Hughes) 1650299313
He had to let the air out of her tires because she didn't have a drink he could slip something into.https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1515485452312186887\u00a0\u2026— Bill Prady \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Bill Prady \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650299574
he was also married at the time and his wife filed for divorce after catching him having an affair— shayaan (@shayaan) 1650156300
why would you ever admit this— dix_reloaded (@dix_reloaded) 1650154894
What an adorable story! I wonder if Jesse's wife and young daughters chuckled at it as well? I just love Fox News and their family values!— 7of11 (@7of11) 1650393066
Congrats to the current Watters family and all, but simply asking a woman out might be a better idea than something like this.
Clearly his ex-wife Noelle didn't approve of the tactic.
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
@whatstrending/TikTok
Hannah Disagree GIF by HannahWitton
Angry Over It GIF by Team Coco
saturday night live dancing GIF