I’m sure everyone is just shocked – shocked, I tell you, to learn that Tucker Carlson’s top writer, Blake Neff, has been a regular poster of bigoted and sexist comments in an online forum CNN described as “a hotbed for racist, sexist, and other offensive content.”

What is jaw-dropping is the CNN article that describes Neff’s comments, which he wrote under a pseudonym:

Just this week, the writer, Blake Neff, responded to a thread started by another user in 2018 with the subject line, "Would u let a JET BLACK congo n****er do lasik eye surgery on u for 50% off?" Neff wrote, "I wouldn't get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no." (The subject line was not censored on the forum.) On June 5, Neff wrote, "Black doods staying inside playing Call of Duty is probably one of the biggest factors keeping crime down." On June 24, Neff commented, "Honestly given how tired black people always claim to be, maybe the real crisis is their lack of sleep." On June 26, Neff wrote that the only people who care about changing the name of the NFL's Washington Redskins are "white libs and their university-'educated' pets." 

And over the course of five years, Neff has maintained a lengthy thread in which he has derided a woman and posted information about her dating life that has invited other users to mock her and invade her privacy. There has at times also been overlap between some material he posted or saw on the forum and Carlson's show.

CNN Business contacted Neff for comment Thursday night. After he or someone acting on his behalf passed that email to Fox News spokespeople, a network spokesperson on Friday morning told CNN Business that Neff had resigned. A Fox News spokesperson said Carlson could not be reached for comment. Neff did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

CNN was tipped off to Neff’s comments through an anonymous email.

CNN provides no direct evidence that Carlson knew about Neff’s online alter ego. But whether he did or didn’t, you don’t work closely with a guy like that (for nearly four years, according to CNN) and not know his outlook. That seems especially true for a guy like Carlson, whose brand is white nationalism.

And CNN provides evidence that the two shared at least some views:

Sometimes, material Neff encountered on the forum found its way on to Carlson's show. For instance, on June 25, Neff responded to a post that quoted a news story about coronavirus-related interest in Montana real estate. He wrote on the forum, "Interest in real estate in Bozeman, Missoula, and the Flathead Valley has been on the rise for years." That night, in his monologue, Carlson said, "You're starting to consider maybe moving to Bozeman, and why wouldn't you?"

In some cases, language Neff used on the forum ended up on the show. The night of June 15, in commenting on a football coach who was the subject of controversy over a sweatshirt he'd worn, Neff wrote on the forum, "[I]t is your f***ing right as an American to wear whatever T-shirt you want, and hold whatever political views you want. Christ." The next night on his show, Carlson said, "And they can wear whatever shirts they want. You thought that was true. You thought that was your right as an American."

Meanwhile, like Claude Rains in Casablanca, Fox News will surely claim it had no idea that such a racist was working right under everyone's nose on a show known for dog whistling to white nationalists.

(Carlson image via screen grab)