TOPLINE
Ousted Fox New host Tucker Carlson’s high-powered media lawyer, Bryan Freedman, sent what appeared to be a major warning shot at Fox News in his first public comments since Carlson left the network, telling Axios it is “beyond preposterous” to try to keep Carlson from speaking to his audience as the former top-rated cable news anchor seeks a new job.
KEY FACTS
- Carlson is under contract with Fox until early 2025 but he’s reportedly been fielding numerous offers to return to media, including one from hard-right outlet Newsmax to essentially rebrand the network around his persona.
- It is unclear whether Fox intends to prevent Carlson from going to a competitor by keeping him under contract—potentially paying him $20 million a year to not work.
- Carlson’s received offers from Newsmax and right-wing video platform Rumble that would pay him more than his contract at Fox, according to Axios, while the New York Times reported TV network One America News and the Daily Wire online outlet have also approached Carlson.
- Axios reported that Carlson and billionaire Elon Musk have been in touch about possibly working together, but the two have not talked specifics.
- Fox News referred Forbes to the statement it made on April 24 announcing it and Carlson had “agreed to part ways.”
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous,” Freedman told Axios.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Carlson has expressed interest in moderating a Republican presidential primary debate not sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, according to the Washington Post. He has reportedly talked about the idea with former President Donald Trump, who has strongly suggested he will skip at least the early GOP debates due to his immense polling lead and his feuds with the media and RNC.
KEY BACKGROUND
Carlson’s abrupt departure from Fox News last month shook the American media landscape, given Carlson’s massive ratings and his position as a mainstream right-wing culture war icon. Fox has not said what led to Carlson’s departure, which came shortly after the network agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit, but it reportedly followed an investigation into his conduct. One comment that particularly concerned Fox management was a text message he sent after watching a video of Trump supporters ganging up and attacking someone, criticizing the Trump supporters’ tactics by saying, “It’s not how white men fight,” according to the New York Times. The text was one of numerous controversial messages from Carlson that publicly emerged as part of Dominion’s suit, which claimed Carlson and other Fox News hosts recklessly promoted false conspiracy theories suggesting its voting machines were somehow rigged against Trump in the 2020 election. Fox is also facing a discrimination lawsuit from former producer Abby Grossberg, which in part claims Carlson fostered a toxic work environment on his show “that subjugates women based on vile sexist stereotypes.”
SURPRISING FACT
Carlson has only spoken out once since he left Fox, tweeting a two-minute clip two days after his ouster, in which he claimed media outlets “actively collude to shut down” conversations that don’t benefit corporate leaders.
