(RNS) — On Wednesday (Feb. 18), Tucker Carlson released the latest episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show” on X, drawing a furor of online discussion after announcing that Hallow, a Catholic prayer and meditation app, would sponsor the program during Lent.

During the episode, Carlson promoted Hallow’s seasonal “Pray40” challenge, which encourages users to pray daily throughout Lent. This year’s theme, “The Return,” centers on the parable of the prodigal son, a biblical story about repentance and forgiveness.

“It is the best prayer app ever,” Carlson said during the sponsorship segment. “You’re responsible for your next choice, even if you have behaved in deeply unholy ways, and we all have. Get three months free at Hallow.com/Tucker.”

The announcement prompted polarized reactions on X. Some Christian users said they planned to stop using Hallow because of its partnership with Carlson, while others praised the collaboration. Multiple users called for boycotts of the app and other sponsors.

“Yeah. I am boycotting all your sponsors,” one user wrote. “@HallowApp @BlackRifle_Co Absolutely zero business from me and my entire extended family while you partner with perpetual liars,” another wrote. “How does #HallowApp continue supporting you?” said another. “Cancelling my @HallowApp subscription. Awful,” another wrote.

Others defended the partnership. “STAY STRONG WE SUPPORT YOU,” one X user wrote.

Carlson said Hallow would be one of the show’s sponsors during Lent, alongside Cowboy Colostrum, which sells grass-fed cow colostrum, a secretion from the mammary glands collected within 24 hours after a cow gives birth; and Black Rifle Coffee, which is facing a federal class-action lawsuit alleging its branding misleads consumers into believing its coffee is produced entirely in the United States.

Offerings on the Hallow app. (Screen grab)

Carlson, who parted ways with Fox News in 2023, now hosts “The Tucker Carlson Show” on X and YouTube, where episodes routinely draw millions of views. The episode posted last Wednesday, Feb. 18, which coincided with the start of Lent, featured an hourlong interview with Fares Abraham, an evangelical pastor and Palestinian American. Abraham described growing up in Beit Sahour, a predominantly Christian town southeast of Bethlehem, and spoke about what he characterized as the effects of Israeli occupation on local Christian communities.

Carlson framed the interview as an effort to highlight the experiences of Middle Eastern Christians and preempt accusations of antisemitism, which are claims he said critics have made against him in his coverage of Israel and the war in Gaza. In the episode, he said the conversation was intended to focus on the treatment of Christians in what is traditionally regarded as the birthplace of Jesus.

“There is no reason for any conversation about American foreign policy to devolve into Jews versus everyone else,” Carlson said. He added that speaking with Middle Eastern Christians is “an important way to keep the conversation where it should be.”

In the past year, Carlson has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum for interviews with controversial figures. In October, some viewers said he did not sufficiently challenge far-right commentator Nick Fuentes during an interview. Fuentes has publicly expressed hostile views toward minorities, Jews and women. 

As criticism of the Hallow partnership spread on X and YouTube, some viewers also pointed to Carlson’s claim during the show, reported by The Daily Mail, that Israeli authorities briefly detained him at an airport and questioned a member of his production team after he recorded an interview with Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

In an X post later that day, Oren Marmorstein, the spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, refuted Carlson’s claims, stating: “Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated,” Marmorstein wrote. “Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers.”

Tucker Carlson, left, interviews Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, on a recent episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show.” (Video screen grab)

The comments under Carlson’s Feb. 18 post announcing the Hallow sponsorship were filled with expressions of surprise over the partnership, along with criticism of what many commenters said were false claims he made about Israeli authorities.

On Friday, Tucker Carlson released the three-hour interview with Huckabee, in an episode titled: “The Mike Huckabee interview, and the truth about America’s deeply unhealthy relationship with Israel.” In the interview, Carlson questioned the former Arkansas governor on U.S. policy toward Israel and the status of Christianity in the country, a line of questioning some viewers online said reinforced what they see as Carlson’s increasingly antisemitic criticism.

Meanwhile, some of Huckabee’s comments during the interview drew the ire of leaders of Arab and Muslim states. Huckabee told Carlson “it would be fine if they took it all,” in response to his question about whether Israel had a biblical right to “basically the entire Middle East,” including land in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Huckabee quickly added that expansion into those lands is not something Israel is actively trying to do and has since said the comments were taken out of context.

Hallow was founded in 2018 by Alex Jones, a tech entrepreneur not to be confused with the controversial media figure, along with Erich Kerekes and Alessandro DiSanto.

The Chicago-based company offers guided prayer and meditation, Bible reading exercises, music and programs focused on sleep and spiritual formation. Subscriptions cost $10.99 per month. In 2023, more than half of Hallow’s users were 35 or younger, the company said. Sixteen percent of its users were between 18 and 34, according to Fox News.

The app has partnered with several celebrities during Lent, including Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, Jonathan Roumie and Gwen Stefani, and has faced online criticism for associations with MAGA-aligned conservatives, including Isabel Brown, a conservative Christian commentator with a radio show on The Daily Wire. Some Catholics have criticized Hallow for broadening its branding from a Catholic prayer app to a more general Christian platform. The partnership with Carlson, an Episcopalian, renewed that criticism.

Hallow did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. This isn’t the first time, however, Hallow has taken criticism for a sponsorship. Last year, the company paused its partnership with Russell Brand after the English actor was charged with rape and other sexual crimes.

“We are no longer advertising on Russell’s show,” Jones told OSV News in April 2025. More recently, critics have objected to what they describe as a “pay-to-pray” dynamic.

Fiona Murphy is a national reporter for Religion News Service.