Abby Grossberg, the former Tucker Carlson producer suing Fox News for allegedly forcing her to give misleading testimony in the Dominion case, appeared Tuesday on MSNBC to dish dirt on her former boss now that he has also been fired by the conservative cable giant.
Grossberg, who was terminated by Fox News last month, said that she believed her lawsuit against the network “has something to do with” Carlson’s stunning ouster from the network. Confider reported on Monday that a key factor in the Fox star’s sudden demise was Dominion lawyers citing his repeated use of the c-word, something that came up in Grossberg’s own deposition.
Additionally, Grossberg not only went into detail about the toxic work environment she experienced while working for Carlson’s show but also claimed the primetime host seemed hellbent on finding a link between the FBI and the Jan. 6 insurrection. That was despite, as Grossberg noted, lawyers for the Capitol rioters trying to dissuade Carlson from chasing the conspiracy theory.
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Elsewhere in the 40-minute discussion with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, the ex-Fox producer claimed to be in the possession of 90 recordings, several potentially relevant to her case that she is still going through on her devices. And, in the end, she said that what she really wants from Fox News is “an apology”—something the network didn’t give Dominion even after paying the voting software firm $787.5 million to settle its defamation lawsuit.
Below are the top highlights from the much-anticipated interview.
TUCKER AND HIS TOP PRODUCER MADE HER LIFE “A LIVING HELL”
Grossberg alleged in her lawsuit that Carlson’s show was a cesspit of misogyny and antisemitism. And on Tuesday she told Wallace that she felt “mixed emotions” about the firing of Carlson and his top producer Justin Wells even though they “were responsible for breaking me and making my life a living hell.” She added: “There is a feeling of justice, but it’s only partial.”
Recapping the claims raised in her legal complaint, Grossberg said Carlson’s crew plastered demeaning pictures of Nancy Pelosi all over the office and once asked whether her previous boss Maria Bartiromo was sleeping with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. While recounting her objections to Carlson’s interview with accused human trafficker Andrew Tate, Grossberg told Wallace that other producers wanted it to be a “bro fest” and later mocked and shut her out of meetings over her concerns.
CARLSON’S OBSESSION WITH PROVING JAN. 6 WAS FALSE FLAG
Towards the end of Grossberg’s time at Fox, Carlson had been given exclusive access to the Jan. 6 surveillance video footage by McCarthy. According to Grossberg, the now-former Fox News star was “very set on finding an FBI person who was implanted in the crowd” so he could prove the insurrection was a false flag by the government.
“[He was] spinning this conspiracy that they were ultimately the ones responsible for the Capitol attack, not Fox News as they’re about to go into the Dominion trial,” she said. “It was really the FBI that set up this thing, not Fox telling the American people that the election was rigged and the voting machines did it.” Grossberg claimed that even an attorney representing some of the Capitol rioters implored her to push Carlson away from the unhinged theory, but it was to no avail because “everyone was a believer” on the show.
“I went back to them and said, look, there’s no conspiracy theory here. I called the attorney who is representing one of the Proud Boys. He told me on two occasions, ‘There’s no conspiracy, get away from this stuff, this is dangerous. Tell Tucker to stop. I will come on your show, but I’ll absolutely walk off if he asks me this.’ And the result was, find somebody else, Tucker is really intent on this.”
GROSSBERG FEELS SHE MAY HAVE BROUGHT TUCKER DOWN
With speculation that her looming lawsuit may have been a factor in Carlson’s stunning termination, Grossberg was asked if she felt that her legal action brought Carlson down. “I think it has something to do with it, I don’t know for sure,” she answered. “It’s not a fact. I would like to think, if anything, it shows when you have the truth on your side and you stand up for yourself, people will listen. For now, that’s what I’m taking from it.”
Wallace also wanted to know if Grossberg believed her amended Dominion deposition and willingness to be the voting company’s star witness in the trial may have also played a role. Grossberg, for her part, said that Carlson’s use of the c-word while discussing ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell came up several times in her deposition, and that Fox’s attorneys had prepared her in advance to lie about whether or not it bothered her.
THE ‘ABBY DAY’ CELEBRATION
Grossberg said that after Fox News attorneys coerced her to give misleading and false testimony in order to protect Carlson and top executives, the staff was given a celebratory lunch later on called “Abby Day.”
Reading from Grossberg’s lawsuit, Wallace stated: “The day after her deposition on December 14th, Alex McCaskill asked Ms. Grossberg about what she covered in her testimony. She said Mr. Carlson’s name came up, but she protected him. The attorney said they were happy with the answers she had given and said they should celebrate with lunch later that day. An email was sent to the staff to celebrate Abby Day.”
Asked if this was normal, Grossberg said she was one of three people she’s aware of on Carlson’s staff that was deposed in the case. And she was the only one who was venerated with a staff-wide celebration.
LORDY, THERE ARE (MORE) TAPES
The revelation that Grossberg had secret audio recordings of Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Trump officials admitting to Fox News that they had no evidence of election fraud was a turning point just before the start of the Dominion trial. The judge overseeing the case reprimanded the network’s lawyers for not providing the tapes to Dominion’s legal team in the discovery phase.
Grossberg, who has since revealed other recordings, said on Tuesday she has even more tapes.
“I have several recordings I’m still going through that we recovered from all the phones,” she said. “There are 90 that we have. I don’t know what Fox turned over. I know that based on what I’ve read that they handed over the Sidney and Rudy tapes. Fox should have everything they really should.” Grossberg also confirmed that she has been subpoenaed by Smartmatic, another voting machine firm suing Fox News for defamation.
“I WANT AN APOLOGY”
Grossberg ended her Tuesday conversation with Wallace by stating that nobody from Fox told her anything about Carlson’s firing, sarcastically adding: “No one is coming near me; they could be worried I have tapes.”
However, she declared, “I want an apology from Fox.” While accurately pointing out that Dominion didn’t even get that and they received nearly $800 million, Wallace asked if Grossberg really thought a mea culpa would ever come. “I don’t know. But I want one,” she concluded.
