Read the complete write-up of Jesse Watters net worth, salary, age, height, family, parents, wife, children, wedding, Twitter, TV shows, controversies as well as other information you need to know.
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Introduction
Jesse Watters is an American conservative political commentator on Fox News. He frequently appeared on the political talk show The O’Reilly Factor and was known for his man-on-the-street interviews, featured in his segment of the show, “Watters’ World.” In January 2017, Watters became the host of a weekly Watters’ World show, and in April 2017, he became a co-host of the roundtable series The Five.
In 2021, he published his first book, How I Saved the World. The work debuted at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list.
Early life
Name | Jesse Watters |
Net Worth | $8 million |
Profession | TV host, Political commentator |
Height | 1.83m |
Age | 43 years |
Jesse Bailey Watters was born on July 9, 1978 (age 43 years) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He grew up in the Germantown and then East Falls neighborhoods. He attended the William Penn Charter School through junior year, before moving with his family to Long Island in New York. In 2001, he graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, with a B.A. in history.
Career
After his graduation, Watters began work as a production assistant at Fox News. In 2003, he moved to the production staff of The O’Reilly Factor, and in 2004 he began to appear on air in segments of O’Reilly’s show.
On June 11, 2014, Watters debuted on the Fox News show Outnumbered, later occasionally appearing as a guest co-host. On November 20, 2015, Watters debuted his own monthly Fox News program, Watters’ World. While Watters is characterized as an “ambush journalist”.
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Jesse Watters has said, “I try to make it enjoyable for the person I’m interviewing. We always come away from the interview all smiles, for the most part. And it’s always fun to come back and look at the footage and say, ‘Oh my gosh, what just happened?'” In January 2017, Watters’ World became a weekly show, airing Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET.
In April 2017, Watters became a co-host of the roundtable series The Five. In April 2021, HarperCollins announced the publication of Watters’ new book How I Saved the World, which was published on July 6. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending July 10, 2021.
Controversies
Jesse Watters has drawn criticism for numerous provocative statements. In January 2017, Watters faulted John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, for the theft of Podesta’s emails by Russian hackers, saying, “What happened was John Podesta gave his password to a hacker. And guess what his password was. ‘Password.’ It’s a true story. His password was ‘password.'” The fact-checking website PolitiFact rated Watters’ claim “False.”
According to Media Matters, on climate change, Watters has stated, “You can fight climate change with suntan lotion. It’s not that big of a deal.” Regarding President Donald Trump’s policy of separating children from their families, Watters argued that “some would say it’s a more humane policy” than keeping them together.
Amanda Terkel “ambush”
In 2009, on assignment for The O’Reilly Factor, Watters and his cameraman accosted journalist Amanda Terkel while she was on vacation to ask her questions about an article she wrote that was critical of Bill O’Reilly.
Seven years later, at a journalists’ reception, The Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim approached Watters with his phone camera running and asked him to walk over to Terkel and apologize. Watters at first said he would apologize and then said he wouldn’t, adding, “I ambushed her because O’Reilly told me to get her because she said some bad shit.”
Video of the incident shows Watters then grabbing Grim’s phone and throwing it on the floor, and later grabbing it again and putting it in his pocket. Eventually, the two got into a shoving match, as Grim attempted to recover his phone. Watters later commented on the incident on The O’Reilly Factor, stating, “I was at this party trying to enjoy myself. This guy came up to me. He starts putting it in my face.”
Terkel wrote that Watters’ response was “surprising,” considering that “Watters’ way of confronting his subjects is to thrust cameras in their faces unexpectedly and pepper them with aggressive questions.”
Chinatown segment
In October 2016, Watters was criticized for a segment of Watters’ World that was widely considered racist toward Asian Americans. In New York City’s Chinatown, Watters asked Chinese Americans if they knew karate (which originates from Japan, not China) if he should bow before he greets them, or if their watches were stolen. Throughout the segment, the 1974 song “Kung Fu Fighting” plays in the background, and the interviews are interspersed with references to martial arts and clips of Watters getting a foot massage and playing with nunchucks.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio denounced Watters’ segment as “vile, racist behaviour” that “has no place in our city”. Numerous other lawmakers and journalists, including Asian Americans Mazie Hirono and Judy Chu, also condemned Watters. The segment was also criticized by the Asian American Journalists Association, which issued a statement saying, “We should be far beyond tired, racist stereotypes and targeting an ethnic group for humiliation and objectification on the basis of their race.”
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On October 5, Watters tweeted what Variety’s Will Thorne called a “non-apology” about the segment. In the two tweets, Watters stated that “My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offence. … As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece, as all Watters’ World segments are.”
In April 2017, two days after joining The Five as co-host, Watters made an on-air comment about Ivanka Trump that was criticized as lewd. After viewing footage of Trump speaking on a panel about female entrepreneurship, Watters commented, “So I don’t really get what’s going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone,” as he parodied holding the microphone as a phallic symbol. Watters denied his comment was sexual, saying in a statement, “During the break, we were commenting on Ivanka’s voice and how it was low and steady and resonates like a smooth jazz radio DJ… This was in no way a joke about anything else.” In response to the criticism, Watters was not on the show for two days that week.
Qanon comments
In July 2020, Jesse Watters praised the conspiracy theory QAnon during his show, saying that “they’ve also uncovered a lot of great stuff when it comes to Epstein and it comes to the deep state. I never saw Q as dangerous as Antifa.” After a press backlash, Watters released a statement saying that “I mentioned the conspiracy group QAnon, which I don’t support or believe in. My comments should not be mistaken for giving credence to this fringe platform.”
Wife
Jesse Watters is married to Emma DiGiovine, they had their wedding in 2019. However, he was married to Noelle Inguagiato Watters and shares twin daughters with her. Noelle and Jesse divorced in 2018 after Watters allegedly admitted to having an affair with Emma DiGiovine, a producer on his show. Watters announced his engagement to Emma DiGiovine in August 2019; the two were subsequently married. They have one son, born in 2021. Jesse Watters children are Ellie and Sophie.
Jesse Watters net worth
How much is Jesse Watters worth? Jesse Watters’s net worth is estimated at around $8 million. His salary is around $2 million and his main source of income is from his career as a political commentator. Watters’s successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars. Watters is registered to vote as a member of the Conservative Party of New York State. How tall is Jesse Watters? He is 1.83 meters tall.