Brett Cooper misses Fox News debut after 'car issues'
Conservative Gen Z star Brett Cooper missed her first day on Fox News.
At the end of the June 25 episode of "The Will Cain Show" on Fox News at 4 p.m. ET, Cain announced that "we were supposed to have Brett Cooper here in studio with a big announcement, but unfortunately she ran into some travel issues, some car issues, but that didn't stop Brett from sharing her news."
Cooper, who is currently on a spring tour, shared a recorded message, seemingly captured on a cell phone video, telling viewers that she was "reporting live" from a Buc-ce's gas station and convenience store location in Texas.
"I was so excited to kick off this new partnership with Fox in this official way, but a series of unfortunate events left my husband and I on the side of the road in Texas on the freeway as we were trying to get between Austin and Dallas," Cooper said.
Cooper added that she "wanted to send in this video, just to say hi and to thank you all for the congratulations, and the excitement. I am so excited to join Fox as a contributor. I can't wait to be on their shows even more regularly," she said, promising the experience "will be so much fun."
Cooper, 23, said she expects to appear on Fox Thursday, June 26.
The Tennessee resident, social media influencer and podcast host's hiring by the conservative leaning cable news network as a contributor was first announced Wednesday. Cooper — who boasts over 4.5 million followers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X — could become one of Fox's youngest stars.
Less combative than other young women who rose to stardom on the right, Cooper found fame like left leaning "Call Her Daddy" podcast star Alex Cooper, with whom the influencer seemingly bears no relation in name or political views, by discussing cultural issues that matter to young women.
In January, the UCLA alum launched her own podcast, "The Brett Cooper Show" in which she comments on both pop culture and politics. She previously spent two years hosting a video podcast "The Comments Section" from 2022 to 2024 for controversial conservative commentator Ben Shapiro's company The Daily Wire.
In recent months, Fox News has seemingly made further efforts to appeal to women. In February, former Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump — the daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump — launched her own show on the network.
In doing so, the wife of President Trump's middle son, Eric, passed up a Cabinet position, a possible U.S. Senate appointment and became the first family member of a sitting president to host a television program.
After Fox News announced Trump's hiring, criticism followed. The Daily Beast said she tried and failed to paint her father-in-law as "pro-feminist" after Trump featured female Trump administration officials Pam Bondi, Tulsi Gabbard and Karoline Leavitt. The New Yorker coined her "The New Trump-Family Megaphone."