OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A pre-show photo of Fox News star Jesse Watters before “The Five” started has gone viral online after social media users spotted something about it.
The photo was published by Fox News’ official X account and shows Watters in a suit and tie, standing and looking away from the camera.
But it wasn’t Watters who garnered the most attention; it was a woman—presumably a Fox production staffer—standing behind him wearing a mask that drew responses.
“What’s the mask for?” asked Ron DeSantis’ rapid response director, Christina Pushaw.
“Just stop with the COVID theater, the mask isn’t even on correctly,” another user wrote.
“Why the mask?” asked another.
“Does that chick in the background announce her pronouns at every meeting too?” still another user posted.
The irony is that several of the network’s right-leaning hosts, for more than a year, railed against such COVID-related mandates such as social distancing and wearing masks indoors and out.
what's the mask for?
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) January 3, 2024
The photo and mask controversy comes on the heels of another between Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Watters after the latter spent a segment of his show this week naming Democrats and Republicans who appear to be doing well in the stock market and suggested they could be involved in insider trading, which is illegal.
Crenshaw, who made Watters’ list, responded in several Instagram Story posts, referring to the Fox host as a “f**king clown,” a “f**king hack,” a “dirtbag millionaire,” and a “mediocre” entertainer.
The former Navy SEAL officer and Purple Heart recipient also referred to Watters as a “loser” who “grew up with a silver spoon” and then “cheated on his wife and then left her with twins while he went off with another Fox producer.”
The Texas Republican didn’t dispute any figures that Watters mentioned during the segment and confirmed that he has “$10,000 invested in stocks” but hasn’t made a trade in “over a year.” He also said that while serving in Congress, he’s “never had more than $20,000 invested” before adding: “Fox knows this but they’re desperate for fake controversy to get clicks.”
Crenshaw also noted in his Instagram Stories posts:
Hey you f**king hack, if you’re gonna accuse me of literal corruption, get your facts straight and man up and come accuse me to my face. You’re a f**king clown desperate for clickbait. …
Watters is a tool, making millions to push conspiracies on TV and bash veterans like me who are barely a fraction of his net worth. Wake up America. The political entertainment industry is almost always lying to you.
In another post, Crenshaw said:
I’m sitting here trying to feed my 3-month-old and this dirt bag millionaire at Fox is accusing me of being a criminal with zero evidence. Stop watching these mediocre entertainers.
Stop letting wealthy elitists like [Jesse] Watters claim to be “fighting for you.” They live in Manhattan and can’t stand normal people who live in red states. They think you’re stupid and feed you bullshit to rile you up.
He added in another post:
Losers like Watters grew up with a silver spoon. His family is made up of well-connected journalists and politicians. And for some reason, people are fooled into believing he’s some genuine blue-collar conservative. Yeah, he’s such a “conservative” he cheated on his wife and then left her with twins while he went off with another Fox producer.
In his final post, Crenshaw jabbed Watters again:
And let’s be honest, Jesse Watters seems like the type of dude who pees sitting down.
Last year, Crenshaw and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) exchanged heated social media posts over her opposition to providing billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine after the House approved a package that went around $7 billion more than President Joe Biden requested.
