Fox News Host Takes ‘Vacation’ After Outcry Over Ivanka Remark

Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday evening announced he will take an abrupt “vacation” from The Five, the prime-time show he co-hosts with four others, the day after he faced widespread backlash for his comments about Ivanka Trump. “I’m going to be taking a vacation with my family, so I’m not going to be here tomorrow,” Watters said on the show without explaining why. “I’ll be back on Monday, so don’t miss me too much.” During Tuesday evening’s broadcast of the show, Watters—best-known as recently fired host Bill O’Reilly’s protégé—remarked on the way first daughter Ivanka Trump held a microphone during a women’s rights event in Germany. “It’s funny. The left says they really respect women and then when given an opportunity to respect a woman like that they boo and hiss... so I don’t really get what’s going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone,” he said, gesturing with his hand towards his mouth before flashing a schoolboy grin at his co-hosts. The following morning, Watters claimed it was not sexual innuendo: “During the break, we were commenting on Ivanka’s voice and how it was low and steady and resonates like a smooth jazz radio DJ,” he tweeted. “This was in no way a joke about anything else.” However, Fox News must’ve found the backlash to be alarming enough, as Watters’ abrupt vacation means he will miss two evenings of his new prime-time weeknight slot plus his weekend show Watters’ World.