Covering Its Ass

Jesse Watters Put Fox News in a Rare Position: Covering Its Ass Live on Air

The Fox host has a history of misogynist remarks—but this one went too far.

Mother Jones

This week, Fox News was in a rare position: Covering its ass live on air.

Host Jesse Watters has a history of making misogynist remarks. But on Monday, he took it too far, apparently, by Fox’s low (low) standards. During a roundtable discussion, he made a vulgar remark about Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming she’d be “paralyzed in the Situation Room while the generals have their way with her.”

Fox News isn’t exactly known for issuing apologies or corrections—they paid almost $800 million in a settlement to avoid doing just that when Dominion, a voting machine company, sued Fox over its rampant 2020 election lies. But, as Mother Jones creator Kat Abughazaleh points out, the real question is how long can Fox indulge “smug assholes” like Watters without getting burned?

When even Jeanine Pirro tells you to “take it back,” you should know you’ve crossed the line, and Watters tried to clean up his mess the next day, claiming his comments were being “misconstrued.” But his smirk said it all.

As their rhetoric becomes increasingly racist and misogynistic and the stakes rise as the election campaign charges forward, Fox may find its credibility finally spent. Because when you’re willing to risk it all for Jesse Watters’ weirdly horny takes, maybe it’s time to reconsider just how much you’re willing to lose.