Fox News Decides Jessica Tarlov Will Remain at Network Despite Backlash

Jessica Tarlov will remain a fixture at Fox News after reaching a new long-term agreement with the network. The liberal co-host of “The Five” has signed a three-year contract, extending her run on a program where she regularly debates the show’s conservative personalities.

Tarlov, a Democratic strategist, discussed the agreement during an interview with Marie Claire and said the extension reinforced her belief that Fox News values her presence on the panel. “It’s always a great affirmation of your seat at the table,” Tarlov said. “No matter how contentious it looks or difficult or terrible to some people, that you’re a valued element in this discourse.”

As the panel’s regular liberal voice, Tarlov frequently finds herself debating Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino and Emily Compagno.

Those exchanges can become intense, and Tarlov said she often has limited time to present her side of an argument.

“If I’m going to get 90 seconds, I want to make the most of it,” she stated.

Tarlov explained that she sometimes begins with humor or a mild compliment before making her political argument, describing the approach as an “olive branch” intended to reduce some of the tension.

Despite their disagreements on television, Tarlov said her relationships with several conservative colleagues are much friendlier away from the cameras.

“Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld actually care about me as a person,” she said. “And that doesn’t make them soften their political opinions, even though I think that they should in some cases, especially when they’re enormously wrong.”

Tarlov said those relationships extend beyond work. She regularly communicates with Gutfeld and has spent time socially with several other members of the Fox News team.

She said maintaining those friendships means viewing colleagues as individuals rather than reducing them to their political positions.

“‘[It’s about] fundamentally understanding them as people and how they think about politics,” Tarlov said, rather than viewing them simply as “a set of political opinions.”

The Fox personality also discussed the death of her father, who died from a cancer connected to 9/11 while she was pregnant with her first child.

Tarlov recalled becoming emotional while discussing him on television and said her fellow panelists responded with compassion during the difficult moment.

“There was great relief and also discomfort,” she said, “because I had gotten to the point where it had to be addressed almost, when you’re walking around with something that’s so bottled up. …No one wants anyone to be looking at them while they’re crying. I’m also a very ugly crier, so I didn’t want that to be going on for too long.”

The new contract ensures Tarlov will continue serving as a prominent opposing voice on “The Five” as the program moves forward with its updated lineup.

Compagno recently became a permanent member of the panel following Jeanine Pirro’s departure, leaving Tarlov continuing in her familiar role of challenging the show’s conservative majority.

After years of spirited political exchanges on Fox News, Tarlov now has another three years to continue making her case on one of the network’s highest-profile programs.