Tucker Carlson and Fox News "agree to part ways" - Was he FIRED?

It seems that Fox News has sent a letter to Carlson stating that he has breeched his contract with them by doing his show on Twitter.

Tucker Carlson’s Lawyer Responds To Fox News Contract Breach Allegations

A lawyer for Tucker Carlson has issued a response after reports claimed that Fox News sent a letter accusing Carlson of violating his contract by launching his own Twitter show this week.

“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds. Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events,” Carlson’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a June 7 statement to Axios, appearing to confirm reports that Fox News notified Carlson’s lawyers about a possible contract violation.

A letter was sent by Fox News’ counsel, Bernard Gugar, to Carlson’s attorneys stating that he now “is in breach” of his contract with Fox News after he premiered the first episode of his new Twitter show, “Tucker on Twitter,” on June 6. The first installment has generated more than 100 million views on the social media platform.

“In connection with such breach and pursuant to the Agreement, Fox expressly reserves all rights and remedies which are available to it at law or equity,” the letter from Gugar reads, according to Axios.

The Epoch Times couldn’t verify the authenticity of the contents of the letter.

“This evening we were made aware of Mr. Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Twitter in a video that lasted over 10 minutes … pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Mr. Carlson’s ‘services shall be completely exclusive to Fox,’” the letter reads, appearing to quote Carlson’s contract.

The letter further stipulated that Carlson’s contract states that he’s “prohibited from rendering services of any type whatsoever, whether ‘over the internet via streaming or similar distribution, or other digital distribution whether now known or hereafter devised.’”

About a month ago, Fox News issued a statement saying it had parted ways with Carlson for unclear reasons. Neither Fox nor Carlson has publicly commented on the split, although Carlson hinted in a video last month that he may have reported on topics that the company’s management disagreed with.

As of June 8, neither Carlson nor Fox News has issued public comments about the letter sent to the former host’s lawyers. Fox News and Freedman didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times about the letter.

In the one month after Carlson’s exit, Fox News has seen its primetime ratings slump, according to Nielsen. But Fox is still the No. 1-rated cable news channel overall, a spokesperson for the company recently pointed out in a statement to The Epoch Times.

With the recent drop in ratings, a conservative-led boycott could be devastating for Fox. Multiple major brands targeted for boycotts, including Target and Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch, have seen their shares plummet in recent weeks.

Target’s stock has dropped by about 16 percent in the past month, while sales of Bud Light have posted year-over-year declines for consecutive weeks starting in early April. Target was criticized for selling LGBT products for children, while Bud Light received backlash for its decision to produce a beer can with a transgender influencer’s face on it.

Representatives for Fox News didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on the recent calls to boycott the channel.

Calls for Boycott​

After the Axios report was published on June 7 about Fox’s demand letter, some conservative influencers and journalists issued calls for a boycott while criticizing Fox News.

Longtime journalist Glenn Greenwald, who had frequently appeared on Carlson’s former Fox News show, wrote that “this is pathetic of Fox,” noting that “they fired Carlson, and now their position is: he’s not allowed to speak.”

“He didn’t go to a competing network. He has no contract with Twitter. He’s just speaking on social media. And to Fox, that’s cause to threaten to sue him. They want him quiet,” Greenwald wrote on Twitter.

“Ideology played a big role in Carlson’s firing. He was increasingly at odds with GOP establishment dogma. His primary targets, besides CIA/FBI, were the Mitch McConnells and Lindsey Grahams, along with Biden’s Ukraine war policy. Fox wants to re-boost the GOP establishment.”

Another major conservative account, Rogan O’Handley, or “DC Draino,” suggested that Fox News viewers boycott the channel: “They claim it’s a breach of contract. Maybe we boycott Fox News until they stop trying to silence one of the biggest voices before the 2024 election?”

Responding to the development, commentator Jason Whitlock wrote, “I have not turned on Fox News since the last day of Tucker’s show. I will not turn on Fox News ever again. Channel doesn’t exist to me. It’s not an option. I don’t watch much TV other than live sports. I watch old movies on Amazon Prime. Maybe once a week I turn on CNN. I get my news from Twitter. I’m shocked to say that. But this is where I stay up to date.”

And Patrick Byrne, founder of Overstock.com, wrote: “Boycott Fox News.”
 
This Finnish dude Pekka Kallioniemi working out of Langley seems to have quite diligently and wholeheartedly taken up his Deep State damage control campaign of bashing Tucker. Quite lame in the end even after all that 'work'. :-D

Lame indeed. WEIRDLY lame, because the ‘bashing’ is only implied.

The majority of these tweets about Tucker are basically true, and even complimentary. They amount to "Tucker speaks out against lies and corruption and says bad things about bad people".

The world is truly upside down when shining a light on someone's achievements is supposed to be read as a damning indictment.
 
This Finnish dude Pekka Kallioniemi working out of Langley seems to have quite diligently and wholeheartedly taken up his Deep State damage control campaign of bashing Tucker. Quite lame in the end even after all that 'work'. :-D
That Pekka guy will probably be sued by Kim Dotcom. If this all isn't a theater for us of some sort...
 
From the piece three days ago, as shared by Nienna:
Longtime journalist Glenn Greenwald, who had frequently appeared on Carlson’s former Fox News show, wrote that “this is pathetic of Fox,” noting that “they fired Carlson, and now their position is: he’s not allowed to speak.”

“He didn’t go to a competing network. He has no contract with Twitter. He’s just speaking on social media. And to Fox, that’s cause to threaten to sue him. They want him quiet,” Greenwald wrote on Twitter.

To the follow up from today at Axios:

Fox News has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tucker Carlson as he ramps up a competing series on Twitter that drew a combined 169 million views for its first two episodes, Axios has learned.

And

What's happening: Fox is continuing to pay Carlson, and maintains that his contract keeps his content exclusive to Fox through Dec. 31, 2024.
  • Carlson is making a First Amendment argument for posting on Twitter, and asserts that Fox has committed material breaches of his contract.

So they think they can pay him to shut up until after the election next year and are threatening him if he does otherwise, they think they can hold him hostage, well, good luck with that Fox...
 
So they think they can pay him to shut up until after the election next year and are threatening him if he does otherwise, they think they can hold him hostage, well, good luck with that Fox...
Yep, that was probably the goal.. and the thing is that they thought it would work... "hey you're fired.. but worry not! you can still collect your paycheck... so long as you stay quiet until after the election, k?" and the Tucker goes.. "nah, I'm good" and now Fox look very idiotic.

Not just from a financial point of view, but their base audience probably feel absolutely betrayed by their continued, and now explicit, attempts at killing precisely what they used to stand to defend, free speech and conservative voices.

what a sad little network.
 
Fox News demands Tucker Carlson shut down his Twitter show


Fox News has sent a “cease and desist” letter to Tucker Carlson as the contract dispute between the two parties heats up, Axios reported Monday.
Fox News previously accused Carlson on Wednesday of breaching his contract by violating its non-compete clause when he posted the first episode of his new Twitter show.
His lawyers have argued for Carlson’s First Amendment right to post on Twitter and alleged Fox News breached its contract with the cable news host.
In response to the Monday report, Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer who represents Carlson, wrote on Twitter that her “friend and client [Carlson] will not be silenced—by the far left or by Fox News.”
Elaborating in a statement to media outlets, Dhillon responded to the alleged cease-and-desist letter by saying that Fox News is ignoring “the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations.”
She added: “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,” the statement continued. “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.”
High-powered Hollywood attorney Bryan Freedman also represents Carlson, and he told news outlets last week that Carlson won’t be silenced by Fox News. Previously, he reportedly argued that Fox News breached its contract with Carlson, rendering it no longer valid.
“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds,” Freedman said in a recent statement. “Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events.”
Carlson aired the first two episodes of his Twitter competitor last week and obtained over 169 million viewers on the platform. The first episode of his show aired Tuesday and received over 100 million views in two days. His 10-minute Twitter monologues outperformed Fox News’ broadcasts in the same time slot.
Carlson’s lead producer Justin Wells tweeted Sunday that the next episode will air June 13 and address the indictment of former President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to appear at a Miami courthouse Tuesday afternoon. Trump was indicted by federal prosecutors on 37 counts related to mishandling classified documents and preventing the government from retrieving them.
Before parting ways with Fox News, Carlson was the network’s highest-rated host and beloved by conservatives. His show frequently received the highest ratings on cable news and drove the national conversation.
 
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