Fox News is taking action against a former top employee's new venture.
The media company has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tucker Carlson's attorneys, per Axios, claiming the conservative talk show host's new Twitter series is violating his contract with Fox News Media.
Carlson announced "Tucker on Twitter" just over two weeks after being fired from Fox News in late April and has since posted two straight-to-camera monologues, garnering a combined 169 million views.
But Fox is still paying the former "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host and claims his contract keeps his content exclusive to the network until Dec. 31, 2024.
Fox News, which didn't comment on news of the letter, notified Carlson's lawyers of the apparent breach of contract last week, Axios said. But the host's lawyers responded saying his Twitter series is protected by his right to freedom of speech.
Carlson's lawyer also responded to the cease-and-desist news on Twitter, saying, "My friend and client Tucker Carlson will not be silenced — by the far left or by Fox News." And another of his lawyers said in a statement, "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."
This potential legal action against Carlson adds to an already contentious battle with his former employer.
Carlson's firing came just days after the network paid $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, which accused Fox of recklessly airing false election claims about the 2020 presidential election. Carlson had pushed conspiracy theories on air relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection and election results, and a former producer for his show filed a discrimination lawsuit against the network.
Tucker Carlson speaks out for first time since Fox News dismissal
Carlson's comments came at 8:01 p.m. ET, about the same time he appeared on millions of TV screens each night for years.
