Tucker Carlson Reportedly Takes Legal Action Against Fox News
Tucker Carlson has reportedly taken legal action against Fox News, following his firing from the network in April. According to Axios, Carlson's legal team issued a letter to Fox News, accusing the network of fraud and breach of contract. The outlet also reported that the letter references a noncompete clause in Carlson's contract, stating that it is now void and he is free to produce a new show.
The letter — which was sent to Fox officials Viet Dinh and Irena Brigantialso — also reportedly claimed that Fox employees, including Fox News owner "Rupert Murdoch himself," betrayed Carlson "intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth. Axois went on to report that Carlson is technically still under contract at Fox, and that he will remain bound to the network until 2025. At this time, it does not appear that Fox News has issued a statement on the letter.
On Monday, April 24, it was announced that Carlson and Fox News had parted ways. Later reports indicated that Murdoch had fired Carlson. Days later, Carlson took to social media to issue his first official statement on the matter. In a video message, Carlson greeted his fans and followers, then proceeded to deliver a short speech that seemingly took jabs at his critics and old network, while also recognizing his supporters.
"One of the first things you realize, when you step outside the noise for a few days, is how many genuinely nice people there are in this country and decent people who really care about what's true," Carlson began his video, then adding that "the other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are."
Eventually, Carlson concluded, "Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some, and that's enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon."
More recently, on May 9, the longtime TV host announced that he is planning to produce a new show made for Twitter. Coincidentally, he also shared his announcement video on the Elon Musk-owned social media site. "There aren't many platforms left that allow free speech," Carlson said in a three-minute video. "The last big one remaining in the world, the only one, is Twitter, where we are now. Twitter has long served as the place where our national conversation incubates and develops. Twitter is not a partisan site, everybody's allowed here, and we think that's a good thing."
He later added that "the news you consume is a lie," and that he would be "bringing a new version of the show we've been doing for the last six and a half years" to Twitter. "We're just grateful to be here," he said. "Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others." Notably, Musk has stated that there is no contract in place between Twitter and Carlson, so the show he is planning may be independent.