Tucker Carlson Reveals New Show Amid Claims Fox News Breached His Contract
23:38 GMT 09.05.2023 (Updated: 03:34 GMT 10.05.2023)
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Tucker Carlson was abruptly taken off the air last month, shortly after the Fox Corporation settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he will be launching a new show . . . on Twitter.
Tucker, who was taken off the air by Fox News a little more than two weeks ago, said his new show will be “a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter,” but did not provide any more specifics other than that it will come “soon.”
He also promised his team will be bringing “other things” but did not clarify what they could be.
We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023
Carlson has a non-compete clause in his Fox News contract that should, in theory, prevent the controversial former host from starting a new show as long as they continue to pay him the length of his contract which ends in January 2025.
It has been reported that almost immediately after his ousting, Carlson received multiple high-priced offers from other conservative outlets, as well as rumors he was talking with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Carlson’s lawyers have reportedly sent a letter to Fox, alleging the company breached the contract, which would void the non-compete clause. The letter reportedly accuses Fox executives, including Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, of making and breaking promises to Tucker.
The promises, the lawyers argue, represent additional terms of employment for Carlson, which when broken, breached his contract. The letter alleges Carlson was promised Fox would not leak his private communications to the media, and that any settlement with Dominion Voting Systems would not “indicate wrongdoing” on Carlson’s part.
However, shortly after his firing, private texts from Carlson that were redacted in public court documents were leaked to the media, including the New York Times and ProPublica.
One US media outlet exclusively reported that Carlson was told by a Fox board member that his show’s cancellation was part of the Dominion Voting Systems settlement.
“These actions not only breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the Agreement, but give rise to claims for breach of contract, and intentional and negligent misrepresentation,” the letter reportedly reads.
A Fox News spokesperson had denied Carlson’s ousting was related to the Dominion Voting Systems settlement, and a lawyer working for Dominion also insisted the company did not encourage his ouster.
In the Tuesday video announcing his new show, Tucker blasted the media, using his version of Madeleine L'Engle’s quote: “Truth is what is true, and it's not necessarily factual.”
“You often hear people say the news is full of lies. But most of the time that is not exactly right. Much of what you see on television or read in the New York Times is in fact true in a literal sense,” Tucker begins in his announcement video. “It could pass one of the media’s own ‘fact checks.’ Lawyers would be willing to sign off on it. In fact, they may have. But that doesn’t make it true. It’s not true. At the most basic level, the news that you consume is a lie. A lie of the stealthiest and most insidious kind. Facts have been withheld of purpose. Along with proportion and perspective. You are being manipulated.”
Twitter currently allows Twitter Blue subscribers to upload and share videos up to 60 minutes in length and 2GB in size. It is unclear if Tucker’s show will be published using this format or if there are unannounced features coming to the platform.
Later Tuesday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk stated in a tweet that Carlson and the company have not signed "a deal of any kind." He further detailed that Carlson is subject to the same rules as everyone else on the platform, including Community Notes and advertising revenue sharing, which he says is coming soon.
