Fox News' Tucker Carlson Responds To Recordings Where He Calls Women 'Extremely Primitive' By Inviting Critics To Appear On His TV Show

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has come under fire following the release of audio tapes where he refers to women as 'extremely primitive,' among other statements being deemed controversial by some.

The tapes, released on Sunday by Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog group, are recordings of Carlson from 2006 to 2011 when the media personality regularly called in to The Bubba the Love Sponge Show. The nationally-syndicated program featured shock jock host Todd "Bubba" Clem, who legally changed his name to Bubba the Love Sponge Clem in 1998, and broadcast from Tampa, Florida.

The three-and-half minutes of audio features a wide variety of subjects including Carlson, Bubba and an unnamed co-host discussing Warren Jeffs, who is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of two counts of felony child sexual assault.

"(Jeffs) is in prison because he's weird and unpopular and he has a different lifestyle that other people find creepy," Carlson says in a clip from August 2009 following a discussion about the charges brought against Jeffs.

"No, he is an accessory to the rape of children. That is a felony and a serious one at that," a co-host responds, prompting Carlson to ask what he means by an "accessory."

"He's got some weird, religious cult where he thinks it's okay to, you know, marry underage girls, but he didn't do it," Carlson said. "Why wouldn't the guy who actually did it, who had sex with an underage girl, he should be the one who is doing life."

"Look, just to make it absolutely clear. I am not defending underage marriage at all. I just don't think it's the same thing exactly as pulling a child from a bus stop and sexually assaulting that child," Carlson added later in the interview.

In a separate interview, dated September 5, 2009, Carlson says that the charges against Jeffs for sexual assault are "bulls--t" because he is not "accused of touching anybody. He is accused of facilitating a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man. That's the accusation. That's what they're calling felony rape."

In another interview, Carlson referred to Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis Stewart as a"'c--nt" and, in yet another one, called Britney Spears and Paris Hilton "biggest white wh--res in America."

Carlson also found himself caught in a discussion about his daughter's boarding school in October 2009, and allegations from Bubba and his co-host that girls attending boarding schools often experiment with same-sex relationships.

"Let me just give you an example, OK? When she's laying her head in your bed at night, you know who the hell's in her bedroom and what they're doing. Nobody, just her. Well, when she's in a dormitory-type setting and these little girls start experiment around, next thing you know, you know, you got a lesbian on your hands," Bubba said.

Though Carlson responded that he didn't think that was likely, Bubba continued, "Next thing you know, [inaudible], what's going on in the [inaudible] dormitory? Nothing. I don't got a PSP to play, I ain't got nothing going on, I ain't got my mom and dad here telling me that they love me and tuck me in bed. So, here's Trixie, she wants to explore my body a little bit, so hey, let's go crazy."

"If it weren't my daughter I would love that scenario," Carlson replied after Bubba's co-host referred to Bubba as a "sicko."

In another interview, from October 2007, Carlson indicated that women hated putting up with men "when they do you wrong" and compared females to dogs.

"Women hate you when they do you wrong and you put up with it," he said. "Because they hate weakness. They're like dogs that way. They can smell it on you, and they have contempt for it; they'll bite you...I mean, I love women, but they're extremely primitive, they're basic, they're not that hard to understand. And one of the things they hate more than anything is weakness in a man."

Newsweek reached out to Tucker Carlson and Fox News Channel for comment, with Carlson issuing this statement: "Media Matters caught me saying something naughty on a radio show more than a decade ago. Rather than express the usual ritual contrition, how about this: I'm on television every weeknight live for an hour. If you want to know what I think, you can watch. Anyone who disagrees with my views is welcome to come on and explain why."

Carlson began his stint at Fox News in May 2009. He previously worked at MSNBC from 2005 to 2008 and CNN from 2000 to 2005. His Fox News Show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, is the second-highest rated show on the network behind Hannity.