Fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson is preparing for a crackdown on his former network as he mulls making his next career move, a US media outlet has cited unnamed sources as saying.
The sources claimed that Carlson’s allies at rival news platforms are “coming to him and saying, ‘Do you want me to hit Fox?’,” and that he allegedly answers, "No I want to get this done quiet and clean."
“Now, we're going from peace time to Defcon [defense condition] 1. His [Carlson’s] team is preparing for war. He wants his freedom,” one of the insiders argued.
Another source asserted that the ex-Fox News host “knows where a lot of bodies are buried, and is ready to start drawing a map.”
The US media outlet recalled in this regard that Carlson's contract at Fox News, in which he was paid $20 million a year, expires in January 2025. He is still being paid and therefore is prohibited from joining a rival network or starting his own.
In addition, the outlet reported, the ex-Fox anchor is considering building a direct-to-consumer media outlet where his millions of fans could pay to watch him.
Carlson’s attorney Bryan Freedman, for his part, told the outlet that “the idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous."
This comes after Fox News’ surprise announcement on April 24 that the company and Carlson had agreed to part ways despite the fact that he hosted the network's top-rated program. Reports suggest Carlson was let go due to his coverage of controversial topics - ranging from the January 6, 2021 US Capitol breach to the COVID-19 measures to the White House support for Kiev in the Ukraine conflict, while others insist that Carlson was fired for his criticism of Fox News' senior management.