Friday Fox Follies – Satan Catches Cold! Fox Issues Rare Apology!

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Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:09 pm

To stop the daily bloodletting of the Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal, Fox “News” attempted to cauterize the self-wound. It paid mediocre tee vee personality — but excellent iPhone spy — Gretchen Carlson a reported $20 million to make her lawsuit go away. Then Hell officially froze over when Fox issued an unprecedented apology for having treated Carlson like garbage. [My paraphrase.]

As well, Fox paid an undisclosed number of dollars to an undisclosed number of women who also [allegedly] had unsavory encounters with Ailes. This on top of the reported $40 million it paid Ailes to take up his part-time hobby full time: attempting to get Donald Trump elected. Just like he did for the Nixon administration, Ailes is now helping Donald Trump lie to ‘Merka.

One more surprise to come out of this whole scandal was that Geraldo Rivera Offers A Jaw-Dropping Apology For Doubting Accusations Against Roger Ailes. He took to the facebookery to issue this statement:

Also worth reading is Which Fox Personalities Rushed to Defend Roger Ailes? A Guide.

SAME AS THE OLD BOSS: Despite Geraldo’s change of heart (or paymaster) very little has changed at the Fox “News” Channel in its continued support of Trump. The usual cheerleaders continue to shake the usual pom poms. You can expect more SIS! BOOM! BAH!!! like this for the next 60 days:

Fox Hosts Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi To Do Damage Control Over Reports Of Trump’s Illegal Contribution To A Bondi Campaign Group • Fox Ignores Trump Foundation’s Illegal Campaign Contribution, Obsesses Over Clinton’s Cough • Fox Hosts Defend Trump’s “Fondness For Autocrats” And Praise Putin’s Strength • Bill O’Reilly Defends Donald Trump From Critics Of Bigotry And Hate Speech

Meanwhile, as O’Reilly Downplays Trump’s Improper Donation To Bondi As A “Clerical Error”, Fox’s Goldberg [points out the obvious] to O’Reilly: You Wouldn’t Downplay Trump Foundation Scandal If Clinton Did It. Not that anyone really expects Loofah Lad to stop defending his milkshake buddy.

Sean “Hack” Hannity will always ‘go there’: Hannity: Conservatives Who Oppose Trump Will Share Blame If Clinton Wins And Undocumented Immigrants Kill Americans • Sean Hannity to critics: I’m ‘challenging people as somebody that’s interviewed Trump’ • Sean Hannity Wants ‘Idiot Pipsqueak’ Brian Stelter Fired From CNN For Hurting His Feelings:

My, my, my but “tough guy” Sean Hannity has such thin widdle skin. CNN’s Brian Stelter called out Hannity’s hackery again this week. And Hannity reacted like the consummate professional he is… not. [Emphasis mine.]

It’s also good for a laugh when The Hack accidentally blurts out the truth:

Sean Hannity Admits “The Only Reason” He “Likes
Assange Now Is” Because He Promised Clinton Leaks

As per usual those Foxy Friends at Fox & Friends defended Trump, something they’ve done ever since he used the Curvy Couch to launch the subject he refuses to talk about: his disgusting birtherism campaign.

Echoing Trump, Fox & Friends Hosts Lament Media’s
Refusal To Engage In Clinton Health Conspiracies

Fox and Friends invents new conspiracy theory to explain
why Clinton may be covering up a conspiracy theory

Trump may not want to talk about it, but Mike Pence, his Veep pick, has disavowed that crazy nonsense, while one of his biggest lying apologists, Rudolph Guliani, claims Trump dropped that crackpot theory years ago. Then, why won’t he talk about it? Or, disavow it publicly?

Worth noting in brief: FBI’s Clinton Email Findings Show That Fox Got Played By Running With Imprisoned Hacker’s Lie and that Fox’s Megyn Kelly Claims, Without Evidence, That Clinton Cleared Server “After She Got [A] Subpoena”.

PASSAGES: A revolving door has been installed at Fox. Within minutes of Fox “News” revealing Gretchen Carlson’s mega-payout, it announced Greta Van Susteren was gone from the airwaves. Minutes later she was gone from the Fox website after the station wiped away all things Greta — as if she never existed. Now she is Pleading for ‘Fundamental Decency,’ Greta Van Susteren Asks Fox for Lost Photos, Video.

Like Geraldo, she also took to Facebook to post her sad:

Where does she think she’s been working all that time? What makes her think Fox could/would show “fundamental decency”? Especially since Fox Is Replacing Greta Van Susteren With Ailes-Defender And Sexual Assault Denier Brit Hume. More bad news for her: Greta Van Susteren-less ‘On the Record’ Rises 83 Percent in Ratings With Brit Hume.

Meanwhile, the revolving door brings back Neil Cavuto from sick leave and Bill O’ Reilly from wherever he was hiding after disappearing so suddenly.

IRONY ALERT!!! Chris Wallace will be the first presidential debate moderator from Fox News, while Matt Lauer’s Fact-Challenged Moderation Is A Cautionary Tale For Debate Moderators. In fact, the main reason You Know Matt Lauer Was Biased In NBC’s Town Hall Because Fox News Sang His Praises. This comes as Fox News’ Presidential Debate Moderator [Chris Wallace] Says He’ll Let Candidates Lie, therefore Don’t Expect Chris Wallace To Correct Any Donald Trump Falsehoods At The Presidential Debate, which is why Media Matters Founder David Brock Calls For Reconsideration Of Fox News’ Chris Wallace As Debate Moderator.

One person is wholly in favor: Donald Trump Says He Supports Chris Wallace’s Promise Not To Fact Check Candidates As Debate Moderator. This as Chris Wallace Whitewashes Donald Trump’s Long Record Of Bigotry In Discussion About Black Outreach.

What could possibly go wrong?

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT’S DUE: It might be time to retire Shep Smith from this category. He manages to tell the truth almost weekly.

Shepard Smith: Trump “Said He Was For The
War, Period,” It’s “Insanity” To Say Otherwise

Fox’s Shepard Smith Rips Journalists Who Refuse
To Fact-Check Trump, Days After Chris Wallace
Says He Won’t “Truth Squad” Candidates In Debate

Then after Trump Campaign Runs With Alex Jones Conspiracy Theory About Clinton “Earpiece” During NBC Forum, Fox’s Kurtz Criticizes Donald Trump Jr. For “Tweeting A Link To A Site That Specializes In Conspiracy Theories”.

WAIT! WHAT?

Howard Kurtz rarely tells the truth. Maybe Hell has frozen over.

FOX LIES MATTER:

EXPOSED: Fox News Scrubs Climate Change
Mention From Article About Tropical Storm Hermine

Headly Westerfield is celebrating 7 years of Fox “News” criticism this week. He also runs the Not Now Silly Newsroom and is your genial host of Fox Follies and Fallacies at the facebookery.