Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity ridiculed and laughed at CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter for wearing shorts during a television hit, claiming that the sight of Stelter’s “fully exposed” thighs left them “traumatized.”
During Sunday’s broadcast of his program Reliable Sources, Stelter did a somewhat lighthearted segment on news broadcasting during the coronavirus pandemic, pointing out the “ups and downs” of TV hosts and analysts patching in from in-home studios.
At one point, the CNN host said he could “relate” to some of the “embarrassing moments” that have gone viral, sharing an image of himself wearing a suit jacket and tie but no pants while noting he only had only two minutes’ notice before airtime.
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Carlson then decided to end his primetime show on Monday night by poking fun at the sight of a pantsless Stelter, using an image of a weightlifting Chris Cuomo to help set up his joke. (Carlson has regularly tweaked and derided Cuomo over his habit of posting images and videos of his workouts.)
“We told you Chris Cuomo was the only CNN anchor who likes showing off his chiseled physique. We were wrong,” the Fox News host quipped. “On Sunday, the dwarf king aired footage of himself—oh, his chief minion rather—wearing no pants!”
(“Dwarf king,” by the way, is Carlson’s favorite nickname for CNN president Jeff Zucker. Carlson has also referred to Stelter in the past as Zucker’s “house eunuch.”)
“The footage shows the little media hall monitor—calves and thighs fully exposed—when he appeared for a television report on CNN. Your move, Chris Cuomo!” Carlson added before laughing maniacally at his own segment.
Signing off, a still giggling Carlson told his fellow Fox News star: “Hannity, see what you can do with that.”
“OK, now you just traumatized me with Humpty Dumpty and I’m going to have that image seared into my memory for the rest of my life,” Hannity moaned, using his preferred monicker for Stelter.
“Did you have to ruin my life? Ohhh, that is traumatic,” the Fox host added as Carlson snickered. Hannity wrapped up the bit by dramatically waving his hands over his face as if he felt faint.
Carlson—who was accused of “fat-shaming” Stelter in 2019 after he sent him jelly doughnuts in a prank—and Hannity aren’t the only Fox personalities who have taken ad hominem potshots at the CNN host over his looks. A few months ago, Fox host Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery likened Stelter to a potato and said he was “ham-headed.”
