Fox News has reportedly sent a “cease-and-desist” letter to Tucker Carlson in response to his competing Twitter series, which garnered a combined 169 million views for its first two episodes, according to Axios.
Last week, it was revealed that the news organization had informed Carlson’s legal team of contract violations related to the launch of his Twitter show.
The former star host released the first episode of his Twitter show last Tuesday, several weeks after parting ways with the media group. Carlson’s departure from the channel came shortly after Fox Corp settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, in which Carlson played a prominent role as the top-rated host.
Fox News has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding this matter.
Carlson’s 14-year tenure at Fox News abruptly ended on April 24 when he was dismissed by the network and his popular show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” was canceled. While neither side provided an explicit reason for the departure, it is believed that Fox fired Carlson due to his criticism of the network’s management.
In addition, the termination also followed the network’s settlement of a $787 million lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems. In early May, Carlson accused Fox of breaching his contract and announced his plans to launch a new version of his show on Twitter.
However, despite his dismissal, his contract with Fox extends until January 2025, binding him to exclusive work with the network until then. He subsequently agreed to a new show with Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, and on June 6, he premiered the first episode of “Tucker on Twitter,” which quickly gained over 110 million views.
Following the show’s release, Fox’s legal team took swift action. General counsel Bernard Gugar sent a letter to Carlson’s legal team, expressing concern about the video and referencing the exclusivity clause in his contract. However, Carlson’s lawyers promptly responded.
Attorney Bryan Freedman argued that any legal action taken by Fox would infringe upon Carlson’s First Amendment rights. Freedman criticized the network for hypocrisy, stating that while it defends its existence based on freedom of speech, it is now attempting to silence a former host.
