By Andrew Sanford | TV | December 14, 2023 |
By Andrew Sanford | TV | December 14, 2023 |
Deplatforming works. Make no mistake about it. An angry bigot on their own accord can be dangerous. If you put money and TV time behind them, their danger grows exponentially. It’s part of why people are (rightfully) mad that CNN did a Town Hall with Vivek Ramaswamy. No one needs to hear his bullshit, because there are people out there dumb enough to believe it.
The same goes for everybody’s least favorite Walking Yacht Ad, Tucker Carlson. Carlson was fired from Fox News earlier this year. Since then, his profile has fallen significantly. He’s had to pivot to putting up a show on Twitter. That wasn’t a challenge. Twitter’s owner loves bigoted bastards. However, it didn’t work out the way they hoped.
Carlson’s Twitter show has barely moved the needle. He’s interviewing conspiracy theorists and other detestable people. He’s pushing boundaries because he’s got no pull. It all comes back to being deplatformed. Not only does he not benefit from Fox’s reach, he can be even more unhinged, which people will likely avoid.
Now, Carlson is doing what anyone with generational wealth would. He’s starting a streaming service. Before it’s even seen the light of day, the crew at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert have skewered it effortlessly and efficiently. Nicknamed Tuckflix, the Colbert Crew presents a nightmare scenario (that doesn’t feel far from the truth).
Carlson’s streaming service will fail. Most of them probably will. And we will get to witness that failure on a national scale. Or, he’ll disappear, and one day we’ll say things like, “Remember Tucker Carlson?” And the answer will be “No.” Sounds pretty great.