John Legend and Seth Meyers hit out at Tucker Carlson after mass shooting in Buffalo, New York
Celebrities including John Legend and Seth Meyers have criticised Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his remarks in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
On Saturday (14 May), an 18-year-old white gunman killed 10 people at a grocery shop, wounding three more. You can follow the latest updates from the story here.
A 180-page manifesto was discovered online in which the alleged shooter, Peyton Gendron, wrote that he targeted a predominently Black area because of a fear that his “own people” were being “ethnically replaced”.
In the aftermath, a compilation of various clips of Carlson promoting the so-called “Great Replacement Theory” on Fox News has gone viral. The racist conspiracy theory claims that white elites are seeking to replace and outnumber white people in western countries in order to gain an electoral advantage.
A New York Times report previously found 400 instances of the pundit suggesting that Democrats are trying to force a demographic change to improve their election chances.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Fox News pointedThe Independent to Carlson’s on-air remarks denouncing political violence of any kind.
On Monday (16 May), Legend retweeted the compilation video, writing: “Tucker and similar proponents of this evil ideology continue to poison the minds of millions. They have contributed to multiple terrorist massacres and will continue to do so. This is sickening and dangerous. This should not be on a major cable network.”
“Followers of this ideology have been massacring Jews, Blacks, Asians, Latinos. When will we ostracise and de-platform these terrorist sympathisers on our TV and social networks?
“In no other context would a terrorist sympathising news anchor be allowed to continue to spew this nonsense as the body count continues to mount.”
Meyers, meanwhile, referred to Carlson during Monday’s instalment of Late Night with Seth Meyers, criticising him for “also openly and repeatedly promoting replacement theory on his show”.
“No one is being replaced. There’s no capacity limit here,” he said. It’s not like there’s a bouncer who only lets two in when two leave.
“Just think about how breathtakingly dumb the logic here is. No one gets replaced when another person enters the country.”
The Buffalo shooting is being investigated as a possible hate crime and Gendron has been taken alive into custody.
A government official said the suspect was a “very troubled young man” who had previously threatened violence.
