New York, USA — Tucker Carlson, former star anchor at Fox News, has reportedly received a “cease and desist” letter from the network, accusing him of contract breach with the launch of his new show on Twitter.
Carlson, a conservative media personality known for spreading conspiracy theories, ended his relationship with Fox News in April.
The split came only days after the network decided to pay nearly $800 million to Dominion Voting Systems to avoid a high-stakes defamation trial.
Fox News accuses Carlson of violating his contract, stating that he should remain silent until after the 2024 elections.
“Fox News continues to ignore the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations,” commented Harmeet Dhillon, one of Carlson’s lawyers.
“Tucker will not be silenced by anyone,” added Dhillon.
The news of the cease-and-desist letter was initially reported by Axios.
While the letter has not been cited by The Trent, a top source familiar with the matter confirmed that all the details in the Axios report were accurate.
Carlson’s new show debuted on Twitter on June 6 with a 10-minute video monologue in which he made unsupported claims about an attack by Ukraine on a dam in Russian-occupied territory.
The show’s second episode is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, during which Carlson will address the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump, according to Justin Wells, the show’s producer.
In a letter to Carlson’s lawyers last week, Fox News general counsel Bernard Gugar stated that the former primetime host was “in breach” of his contract with the network, which was signed in November 2019 and amended in February 2021.
However, Bryan Freedman, another attorney for Carlson, argued that any legal action by Fox News would infringe on Carlson’s First Amendment rights.
The conflict between Fox News and Carlson occurs at a critical juncture for the conservative media landscape. Fox News’ ratings have suffered since Carlson’s departure, particularly during the 8 p.m. programming block once occupied by him.
The network is also facing increased competition from emerging right-wing news sources like One America News Network (OANN) and Newsmax.
In a related development, Twitter owner Elon Musk is making efforts to attract more commentators to the platform.
Following the launch of Carlson’s new program, Musk tweeted: “It would be great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform!”
