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Fox News has demanded that Tucker Carlson stop posting videos to Twitter, escalating the dispute between the network and its former star host over how — and if — he can continue to speak publicly now that his prime-time show is off the air.
In a letter marked “not for publication” that was sent to the far-right TV host from Fox lawyers, the network accused him of violating the terms of his contract, which runs until early 2025 and limits his ability to appear in media other than Fox.
Since Carlson was ousted by Fox News in April, he has begun producing a bare-bones version of his programme Tucker Carlson Tonight, and posting it directly to Twitter. The new show, called Tucker on Twitter, bears some of the hallmarks of his Fox show, including a monologue focused on current affairs and cultural issues.
His first 10-minute monologue concerned Ukraine and Russia, media coverage of that conflict and complaints about coverage of other issues including UFOs, Jeffrey Epstein and 9/11. By Monday, Twitter said the first video had been viewed nearly 115 million times.
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The second show, 12-and-a-half minutes long, was entitled Cling to your taboos! and included complaints about affirmative action, supposed acceptance of child abuse and the prosecution of those involved in the assault on the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. By Monday, Twitter said it had reached nearly 55 million views.
Justin Wells, Carlson’s former executive producer, said on Twitter that the next episode of the show would feature Carlson’s response to the indictment of former US president Donald Trump.
Tucker will not be silenced by anyone
— Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer representing Tucker Carlson
Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer representing Carlson, said in a statement that Fox News’s legal threat was not in the interest of the network’s audience. “Doubling down on the most catastrophic programming decision in the history of the cable news industry, Fox is now demanding that Tucker Carlson be silent until after the 2024 election,” the statement read. “Tucker will not be silenced by anyone.”
A spokesperson for Fox News said the network had no comment.
Fox’s decision to take Carlson off the air shocked him and the wider media and political world when the network announced the move in a terse, four-sentence statement. A series of public relations and management headaches led to his downfall, according to multiple interviews with people inside the company.
Much to the dismay of senior Fox executives, including the chief executive of Fox Corp, Lachlan Murdoch, Carlson continued to push conspiracy theories about the Capitol assault.
A former Carlson producer also filed a lawsuit alleging he allowed a hostile, sexist workplace to flourish.
And as part of the defamation lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems, which the network settled in April for $787.5 million, Carlson’s personal text messages became public, revealing how he spoke disparagingly about Fox executives and Mr Trump.
After the discovery of one particularly incendiary text from Carlson, the Fox Corp board decided to begin an internal investigation into his conduct. A few days later, he was out.
[ Tucker Carlson: What the Fox host leaves behind as he is shown the door ]
Carlson’s cancellation — he is still an employee of Fox unless the network decides to let him out of his contract — has upended Fox’s lucrative and popular prime-time lineup. The perennial top-rated cable news network by a wide margin, Fox has suffered a significant drop in viewership across the board in recent weeks. Roughly one-third of its prime-time audience has tuned out since Carlson was taken off the air.
Fox News had been loath to pick a public fight with its former star, who has commanded one of the biggest followings in conservative media and demonstrated a distinctive ability to shape some of the biggest policy debates in Republican politics. The network has been publicly silent as Carlson and his associates threatened — mostly through anonymous leaks in the media — to release their own programming and to attack Fox in the process.
Fox’s attempt to force Carlson off Twitter indicates that talks between his lawyers and representatives for the network are becoming strained and that Fox executives are becoming more pessimistic about reaching an amicable agreement on the terms of his departure.
Carlson’s lawyers have argued that Fox News breached its contract with Carlson first, in part by failing to prevent his private messages from being disclosed. The former Fox host also believes his Twitter show is protected speech under the First Amendment, according to a person with knowledge of Carlson’s legal strategy. - New York Times
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