Fox News issued a “cease-and-desist” letter to its former star anchor Tucker Carlson on Monday in an effort to slow the viewership juggernaut Carlson is building on Twitter.
Fox unceremoniously dumped Carlson in April, just after it reached a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Machines.
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The company had sued, asserting that Fox’s personalities, including Carlson, had damaged its reputation by reporting on former President Donald Trump’s stolen election claims.
Over the past week, Carlson has released his own broadcast on Twitter.
The first two episodes racked up a combined, mind-boggling 169 million views.
Axios noted that Fox continues to pay Carlson and argues that his contract remains valid and that his content must be exclusive to Fox through Dec. 31, 2024.
Fox had warned Carlson that he was in breach of his contract after the first episode.
Carlson counters that he has a First Amendment right to post on Twitter and argues Fox is the one who has committed a breach of contract by removing him.
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Carlson is set to release a third episode on Tuesday. He plans to discuss the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump, Axios reported.
Axios also noted that Carlson intends to branch out from his current monologue style and eventually add guests and other content.
In a statement to Axios, Harmeet Dhillon, Carlson’s lawyer, said, “Fox News continues to ignore the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations.”
“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,” Dhillon added.
“Tucker will not be silenced by anyone. He is a singularly important voice on matters of public interest in our country, and will remain so.”
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