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Updated Jun 6, 2023, 9:14pm EDT
mediaNorth America

Fox News is trying to keep Jeanine Pirro away from conservative events

In the wake of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit, Fox News is trying to keep Jeanine Pirro away from some conservative events.

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The Scoop

Fox News is keeping one of its most visible figures on a tight leash as she promotes her new book, infuriating her publisher and some Christian conservative activists.

Over the last several weeks, The Five co-host Jeanine Pirro has been on a tour to promote her new book Crimes Against America: The Left’s Takedown of Our Republic. But two people with knowledge of the situation told Semafor that the network has severely limited Pirro’s promotional appearances by strongly discouraging her from appearing at multiple conservative religious and political events.

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In a statement shared with Semafor, a spokesperson for Pirro’s publisher, Winning Team Publishing, said that the former New York judge was “prohibited from speaking at Turning Point USA, church services, and various other events.”

“We are extremely disappointed that Fox News would censor one of their biggest stars,” the spokesperson said.

Pirro has made several media appearances off the network since publishing her book, including host Pastor Gene Bailey’s show Flashpoint and an interview on Donald Trump Jr.’s show on the streaming platform Rumble. But she was asked by the network not to appear at a Turning Point USA event in Arizona, though she signed books at the conservative youth organization’s headquarters last week.

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And she was strongly advised against appearing at a “tent-revival”-style church event in New Albany, Ohio, next weekend alongside Pastor Bailey, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and Jim Caviezel, the conservative actor who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. A spokesperson for Bailey, a conservative television anchor and co-host of the weekend’s event, told Semafor that he would be addressing Fox’s decision on his Tuesday evening broadcast.

A Fox News spokesperson declined to comment.

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Max’s view

Pirro’s predicament reflects the new reality at the network in the wake of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.

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Some liberals bemoaned Dominion’s decision to settle with Fox at the time for $787 million, hoping that a trial would be uncomfortable for Fox leaders like Rupert Murdoch and Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and allow further insights into how the network works. But the settlement has clearly made Fox News more cautious. The network announced that Bret Baier’s interview with former President Donald Trump airing later this month will be pre-taped. It also taped its recent town hall with the former president, as well as former host Tucker Carlson’s interview with Trump earlier this year.

Pirro is one of the network’s longest serving personalities, and is a co-host of its most popular show. But she was also one of the hosts named in Dominion’s lawsuit against Fox, repeatedly pushing debunked voter fraud claims.

I’d never heard of FlashPoint before I was told about Pirro’s appearance alongside Bailey. But the show has booked major guests including Trump, TPUSA president Charlie Kirk, and Dog the Bounty Hunter. It’s slickly produced and increasingly well-known among conservative broadcasters, which are themselves having a moment amid the rise of streaming and cheaper cable news production costs.

I can also understand why a more cautious Fox is hesitant about Pirro’s appearance at Bailey’s upcoming event. Some of FlashPoint’s on-air personalities are self-declared Christian “prophets” who have predicted that federal prosecutors going after Trump may be soon killed by God. Last summer, several hosts prayed over Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whom one insisted was “covered in the blood of Jesus.”

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