Tucker Carlson’s top writer resigns amid allegations he posted racist, sexist remarks online

Tucker Carlson’s top writer for his Fox News show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” has resigned after it was discovered that he had been posting racist, bigoted remarks to an online forum for years using a pseudonym.

CNN first reported Friday that Blake Neff had been using a pseudonym to post on AutoAdmit, an online forum that is unmoderated and known to be a hotbed for offensive and derogatory comments.

According to the network, just this week, Neff commented on a thread that was created in 2018 by another user with the subject line “Would u let a JET BLACK congo n—– do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?”

Neff responded, “I wouldn’t get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no.”

On June 5, Neff posted, “Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down.” 

In a June 24 post, he wrote, “Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep.”

Additionally, Neff reportedly kept a thread for five years where he allegedly denigrated a woman and shared information about her dating life.

An internal memo from Fox News calls Neff’s actions “horrendous and deeply offensive.”

“We want to make abundantly clear that FOX News Media strongly condemns this horrific racist, misogynistic and homophobic behavior,” the memo reads. “Neff’s abhorrent conduct on this forum was never divulged on the show or the network until Friday, at which point we swiftly accepted his resignation.

“Make no mistake, actions such as his cannot and will not be tolerated at any time in any part of our work force,” it adds.

New: Fox News executives issue internal memo condemning the “horrific” behavior of former top Tucker Carlson writer Blake Neff. pic.twitter.com/QoKDN4S9rD

— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) July 11, 2020

The memo also said Carlson would be addressing the issue on his show Monday.

Neff was Carlson’s top writer and worked at Fox for four years, having previously been employed at The Daily Caller, the conservative news outlet Carlson co-founded. Neff also worked as a reporter at The Hill under a fellowship in 2013 and 2014.

Neff did not respond to multiple requests for comment by CNN.

In a recent interview with Dartmouth’s alumni magazine, Neff elaborated on his integral role with the show and the influence it has nationally.

“Anything [Carlson is] reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me,” he said. “We’re very aware that we do have that power to sway the conversation, so we try to use it responsibly.”

Carlson himself has long been popular but controversial, with the conservative commentator frequently finding himself in hot water because of comments he’s made about race in America.

Most recently, Carlson and his show lost a swath of advertisers after he made demeaning comments about the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody at the end of May.

“This may be a lot of things, this moment we are living through, but it is definitely not about Black lives, and remember that when they come for you,” Carlson said at the beginning of June. “And at this rate, they will.”

Fox News later said Carlson was referring to Democrats when he said that “they will come for you.”

“Tucker’s warning about ‘when they come for you’ was clearly referring to Democratic leaders,” a Fox News spokesperson told The Hill at the time. 

Updated: 1:14 a.m.

Lisa Conley contributed.