For decades, Stacey Dash was best known for her 1990s role in Clueless. Yet in 2014, Dash began to enjoy the platform provided by Fox News, who employed her as an on-air pundit. According to Hollywood Reporter, those days have come to an end after the cable news network declined to renew her contract, which only lends credence to theories of total chaos following Roger Ailes’ ousting. Both Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren have departed for other opportunities while Tucker Carlson got promoted, and Fox hired both Brexit mastermind Nigel Farage and Bob Beckel to fill some gaps.
However, it seems that the channel no longer has room for Dash’s opinions, which include controversial takes on Jesse Williams’ BET speech, the Orlando nightclub massacre, and the transgender bathroom debate. Hollywood Reporter notes that the channel downplayed Dash’s official departure by stressing how the decision was made last fall:
Stacey Dash’s sporadic career as a Fox News pundit is over, after the network declined to renew her contract. The sometime-actress and author, an early and vocal Trump supporter, made her Fox News debut in 2014, but hasn’t been seen on air since last September. A representative told The Hollywood Reporter that the decision not to renew was taken last fall.
Meanwhile, The Hill reports that some other contributors, including George Will and Ed Rollins, have also failed to have their contracts renewed. Last year, Will made headlines for his anti-Trump stance, and he even cited the current president as his reason for leaving the Republican party. Now, he’s departing the channel that’s so beloved by the GOP, apparently for good.
All of this upheaval occurs at a time when Donald Trump’s rise has also caused a TV shakeup with Fox News benefiting from higher ratings, which likely source from their allegiance to the real estate mogul. However, not even the channel’s Chris Wallace will let Trump spokespeople get away with silly “crowd-size” lies, so perhaps there is a limit. Sadly for Will, he won’t be permitted to test these boundaries again.
(Via Hollywood Reporter & The Hill)