On Feb. 8, 2024, a user on X, @DougWahl1, claimed that Jessica Tarlov, who leans left politically and shares co-hosting duties on the Fox News TV show "The Five, was fired by the network and would no longer appear on the program.
The post showed pictures of Tarlov and co-host Jesse Watters. Watters leans right on the political spectrum.
"Jessica Tarlov has been released by FOX. She apparently was too successful at making her left leaning points, and showing up Jesse Walters," the user posted (archived), misspelling Watters' name. The post received nearly 1 million impressions – dubbed "views" by X – in less than 24 hours.
Jessica Tarlov has been released by FOX. She apparently was too successful at making her left leaning points, and showing up Jesse Walters.
Your thoughts pic.twitter.com/18z4ldQiMJ
— Lovable Liberal and his Old English sheepdog (@DougWahl1) February 8, 2024
By email, Irena Briganti, the senior executive vice president of corporate communications for Fox News Media, told us of the rumor, "This is completely false."
In the same week the rumor began spreading, Tarlov was absent from "The Five," which is broadcast from New York. Her absence that week followed an appearance on the HBO series "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Feb. 2, which is broadcast from Los Angeles.
In January, Tarlov announced on "The Five" that she was pregnant and expecting her second child in April.
She joined Fox News as a contributor in 2017 and had appeared as a frequent guest on the network since 2014.