Fox News Jesse Watters takes holiday after 'lewd' Ivanka Trump joke

Fox News host Jesse Watters announced he was taking a family holiday after being accused of making a lewd joke about Ivanka Trump.

Watters has been accused of making a sexist comment on his new show, The Five, as he discussed Ms Trump being "jeered onstage in Berlin".

"It's funny, the left says they really respect women, and then when given an opportunity to respect a woman like that, they boo and hiss," he said on air on Tuesday.

"So I don't really get what's going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone."

On Wednesday, reactions started surfacing on social media, accusing Watters of being "lewd" and "sexist".

"FOX, clean it up. Microphone comments? Comments on hosts dresses? Get rid of those who cannot measure up," wrote MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski.

"Congratulations, Jesse Watters, you're a disgusting pig as well as being a racist moron," wrote New York Post editor John Podhoretz.

The anchor - who was a frequent contributor on Bill O'Reilly's Fox show - denied his comments were of a sexual nature.

"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," he said in a statement.

Watters added he would be taking a family vacation, just days after his new show premiered in a prime time slot.

"I'm going to be taking a vacation with my family, so I'm not going to be here tomorrow," he said.

It is not the first time Watters came under fire for his comments, having been criticised in October for a segment on The O'Reilly Factor about racial stereotypes in New York's Chinatown.

Watters is seen as a protege of Bill O'Reilly, who was recently axed by the network after a series of accusations about sexual harassment.

The host said he would return on Monday for his prime time show The Five.