After Controversial Ivanka Quip, Fox Host Is on 'Vacation'

Critics call Jesse Watters' comments on first daughter lewd, though he denies
By Gina Carey,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 27, 2017 1:43 PM CDT
Fox Host Takes Abrupt Break After Quip About Ivanka
Ivanka Trump arrives for a dinner after she participated in the W20 Summit in Berlin.   (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)

Under fire for remarks about first daughter Ivanka Trump that critics are calling sexually suggestive, Fox host Jesse Watters made the surprise announcement that he’s taking a break. The move comes just three days after his show, The Five, landed a prime-time spot, notes the Hill. "I'm going to be taking a vacation with my family, so I'm not going to be here tomorrow,” Watters said during his Wednesday night show. "I'll be back on Monday, so don't miss me too much.” Watters’ controversial comment aired Tuesday night during a segment discussing Trump’s appearance at the W20 Summit in Berlin. After criticizing people for booing Trump, he added, while smiling and gesturing with his hand, “So I don’t really get what’s going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone.” (See a clip here, as captured by journalist Yashar Ali.)

Ali’s tweet brought widespread attention to the comment, reports USA Today, and critics soon piled on, including MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, who tweeted, “FOX, clean it up. Microphone comments? Comments on hosts dresses? Get rid of those who cannot measure up.” Before announcing his break, Watters defended his quip, saying, “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. This was in no way a joke about anything else.” Not everyone was buying the explanation, however. Given Fox's recent troubles over sexual harassment scandals with Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly, the New York Times notes that the timing couldn't be worse for the network. (More Fox News stories.)

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