Tucker Carlson Still Under Contract By Fox: Will Media Giant Block New Twitter Show?

News anchor Tucker Carlson has planned to launch his own show on a leading social media platform after parting ways with a leading media company. The ongoing saga could take a new turn with an existing contract in place.

What Happened: Fox News, a unit of media company Fox Corporation FOXFOXA, made headlines in late April when it announced it would part ways with anchor Carlson.

The move was seen as a potential loss for the news network as Carlson, a controversial media figure, generated strong viewership on Fox News.

Fox has downplayed the concerns telling advertisers at its upfront advertising event that it had a deep bench of talent in the news sector.

Carlson is set to move on from Fox News with a planned new show on the social media network Twitter.

A new report highlighted the reasons why Carlson and Fox parted ways and what an existing contract could mean for Carlson’s plans to transition to Twitter.

Ahead of a planned settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, a board member for Fox spoke with Carlson by phone said a report from Variety. Carlson being benched by Fox News was a condition of the settlement, according to the report.

While the terms of Carlson being benched were not in the documents of the settlement, the board member was reported to have told Carlson that it was a verbal agreement between Fox and Dominion.

“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” a source cited by Variety said. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working."

Fox and Dominion have both disputed Carlson was part of any agreement for the settlement.

“As the Fox principals who negotiated the settlement well know, Dominion made no demands about Tucker Carlson’s employment orally or in writing. Any claims otherwise are categorically false,” Dominion said in a statement.

Related Link: Two-Faced Tucker: Carlson Loved Trump On Air, Hated Him In Private 

What’s Next: While Carlson announced plans for his show to transition to Twitter and Fox News replaced him in his normal time slot, things could get interesting going forward.

Carlson is technically employed with Fox, according to the Variety report. Fox has not made any announcement that the company will block Carlson from launching the show.

If Fox did attempt to block Carlson from launching his show on Twitter, the news anchor is reportedly prepared to launch litigation against Fox or “watch the network implode attempting to challenge free speech.”

Fox is still paying a $20 million annual salary to Carlson according to the report. Carlson’s current contract expires in January 2025.

Carlson previously hired Hollywood attorney Bryan Freedman, who was also hired by dismissed CNN anchor Don Lemon.

Freedman represented Megyn Kelly, Chris Cuomo and Tiffany Cross and has a history of going after media companies. NBC News was forced to pay Kelly $69 million after she was fired in 2019.

A letter from Freedman to Fox on May 9 said the media company broke promises to Carlson “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.”

Recent text leaks of Carlson could have been made by Fox or Dominion and could also play into the news anchor’s advantage if litigation arises.

Twitter owner Elon Musk said Carlson was not under contract with the social media platform and would be held to the same rules and rewards as other content creators.

“(We) have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever,” Musk said.

A launch date of the new Twitter-based show has not been announced but could be closely monitored by Fox shareholders and executives now as the story moves forward.

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Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Creative Commons