Tucker Carlson’s show does dramatic reading of Stacey Abrams romance novel

Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show on Friday aired a dramatic reading of one of Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams’s romance novels published 15 years ago.

The book, titled “Hidden Sins,” was published in 2006 by the voting rights activist under the pen name Selena Montgomery. 

Carlson on Friday began the segment on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” by calling Abrams “one of the most talented and sauciest romance novelists of a generation,” adding that “like so many great artists, she can be underappreciated.” 

The Fox host added that one of his producers had tracked down a copy of the book, which Carlson said was one of Abrams’s “steamier novels.” 

“Now, most of the novel is a mystery, and, to be honest, we didn’t really follow the plot line,” he explained. 

“That’s not because the writing was bad. Oh, no, no, no. this is Amanda Gorman-level stuff,” he commented, referring to the 23-year-old national youth poet laureate, who in January became the youngest poet to read their work at a presidential inauguration. 

Instead, Carlson argued that his show’s “eyes were drawn, reflexively, to the more salacious elements of the novel.” 

The TV personality then said that his senior producer “volunteered to perform a dramatic reading of the most titillating moments in Stacey Abrams’s novel” before he cut to a screen with a photo of Abrams along with text of the excerpt being read as music played in the background. 

“Heat, like an inferno, blazed in his veins,” the producer began. “Temptation, like a song, clouded his mind. It demanded that he slide his arms around her, that he trail his hand along her spine to sink into the silken curls at her nape.”

After the reading of another excerpt, Carlson commented on the writing, saying, “She tormented his flesh with her palms. We were tormented as we read it.” 

“As we read it more, we noticed our thighs were also getting harder, much harder,” Carlson added, referring to a line from the novel. 

He concluded by saying, “The book is called ‘Hidden Sins,’ and, frankly, we feel we’ve just sinned in public. You can have that feeling too for the low low price of just $7.” 

“Get it. But go easy on your thighs. It’ll wear ’em out,” he said. 

The segment from Carlson, who on Tuesday called the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate a “naughty” writer of “bodice rippers,” comes after Berkley announced that it was republishing three of Abrams’s romance novels in 2022. 

Abrams in a statement said the books, which include the titles “Rules of Engagement” and “The Art of Desire,” were “incredibly special” to her. 

“The characters and their adventures are what I’d wished to read as a young Black woman — stories that showcase women of color as nuanced, determined, and exciting,” Abrams said.