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| Jesse Watters of Fox Announces Vacation After Ivanka Trump Comment | Jesse Watters of Fox Announces Vacation After Ivanka Trump Comment |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Jesse Watters, the Fox News host who took heat this week for making a joke about Ivanka Trump that was criticized as lewd, said on Wednesday that he would be taking a family vacation until Monday. The move came just three days after his show began airing in a new high-profile time slot. | Jesse Watters, the Fox News host who took heat this week for making a joke about Ivanka Trump that was criticized as lewd, said on Wednesday that he would be taking a family vacation until Monday. The move came just three days after his show began airing in a new high-profile time slot. |
| Mr. Watters, who denied that his comment about President Trump’s daughter was sexual, announced his upcoming absence near the end of Wednesday night’s edition of “The Five.” He will miss two days of the show’s first week in prime time after it took over the 9 p.m. slot from “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and he will miss his “Watters’ World” show on Saturday. | |
| A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the vacation had been planned before “The Five” moved to its new time slot, or if the time off was related to the criticism Mr. Watters had received throughout much of Wednesday. | A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the vacation had been planned before “The Five” moved to its new time slot, or if the time off was related to the criticism Mr. Watters had received throughout much of Wednesday. |
| Toward the end of Wednesday’s hourlong show, Mr. Watters and his fellow hosts marveled at a wild baseball play in which a base runner leapt over the catcher to score a run, then he segued abruptly into his vacation announcement. | Toward the end of Wednesday’s hourlong show, Mr. Watters and his fellow hosts marveled at a wild baseball play in which a base runner leapt over the catcher to score a run, then he segued abruptly into his vacation announcement. |
| “I’m glad he didn’t run him over,” Mr. Watters said. “Also, I’m going to be taking a vacation with my family, so I’m not going to be here tomorrow and Friday. But I’ll be back on Monday, so try not to miss me too much.” | “I’m glad he didn’t run him over,” Mr. Watters said. “Also, I’m going to be taking a vacation with my family, so I’m not going to be here tomorrow and Friday. But I’ll be back on Monday, so try not to miss me too much.” |
| “Saturday also?” asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, a co-host. | “Saturday also?” asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, a co-host. |
| “Yes, and K.G. is going to be hosting ‘Watters’ World’ on Saturday,” he said, referring to Ms. Guilfoyle. | “Yes, and K.G. is going to be hosting ‘Watters’ World’ on Saturday,” he said, referring to Ms. Guilfoyle. |
| Barely missing a beat, the focus then shifted to the birth of a two-toed sloth at the Memphis Zoo. | Barely missing a beat, the focus then shifted to the birth of a two-toed sloth at the Memphis Zoo. |
| Mr. Watters’s highly scrutinized joke came during Tuesday’s show as the hosts discussed footage of Ms. Trump being jeered onstage in Berlin while she was speaking on a panel about female entrepreneurship. | Mr. Watters’s highly scrutinized joke came during Tuesday’s show as the hosts discussed footage of Ms. Trump being jeered onstage in Berlin while she was speaking on a panel about female entrepreneurship. |
| “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,” he said. | “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,” he said. |
| Then he added with a grin: “So I don’t really get what’s going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone.” | Then he added with a grin: “So I don’t really get what’s going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone.” |
| On Wednesday, after the clip had been shared widely on social media, Mr. Watters said in a statement that the comment had not been sexual innuendo, as critics perceived it to be. | On Wednesday, after the clip had been shared widely on social media, Mr. Watters said in a statement that the comment had not been sexual innuendo, as critics perceived it to be. |
| “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 said in a statement. “This was in no way a joke about anything else.” | “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 said in a statement. “This was in no way a joke about anything else.” |
| It’s an especially inopportune time for any whiff of sexism at Fox News. Mr. O’Reilly, among the network’s biggest stars, left the network last week over accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. | It’s an especially inopportune time for any whiff of sexism at Fox News. Mr. O’Reilly, among the network’s biggest stars, left the network last week over accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. |
| Its former chairman, Roger E. Ailes, was forced out last year after several female employees came forward with sexual harassment claims. Two more women, Julie Roginsky and Alisyn Camerota, lodged new complaints against Mr. Ailes this month. | Its former chairman, Roger E. Ailes, was forced out last year after several female employees came forward with sexual harassment claims. Two more women, Julie Roginsky and Alisyn Camerota, lodged new complaints against Mr. Ailes this month. |
| Mr. Watters, a protégé of Mr. O’Reilly, has ascended at Fox News despite occasionally attracting his own firestorms, including a heavily criticized segment in which he leaned on Asian stereotypes. In March, he scored an interview with President Trump. | Mr. Watters, a protégé of Mr. O’Reilly, has ascended at Fox News despite occasionally attracting his own firestorms, including a heavily criticized segment in which he leaned on Asian stereotypes. In March, he scored an interview with President Trump. |