Fox News threatened to sue political commentator Tucker Carlson for breaching his contract with the channel by launching the first episode of his show on Twitter.
On Tuesday night, Carlson released a video as part of his new show called "Tucker on Twitter," which prompted the TV station to write a letter to the broadcaster's lawyers claiming breach of contract.
According to the text obtained by Axios, Fox News reminded Tucker Carlson that the terms of their agreement state that the commentator's services are exclusive to the news channel and that he is therefore "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.'"
Furthermore, Fox mentioned that following Carlson's breach of contract, the television channel "expressly reserves all rights and remedies which are available to it at law or equity."
SCOOP: Fox News Wednesday notified Tucker Carlson's lawyers that the former prime-time anchor violated his contract with the network when he launched his own Twitter show on Tuesday, according to a copy of a letter obtained by Axios. https://t.co/hTzMrUz6AQ
— Axios (@axios) June 7, 2023
Carlson's lawyers respond
According to the Axios report, the broadcaster's legal team was undeterred by the letter and responded that any action by Fox would violate Carlson's First Amendment rights. However, the channel apparently intends to keep the broadcaster on the sidelines until 2025.
"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," said Bryan Freedman, the broadcaster's attorney.
Fox News' audience decline
Following Carlson's departure from the channel, ratings plummeted during Carlson's former time slot. Just one week after his firing, it was recorded that Fox's viewership dropped sharply by 56%. Meanwhile, the attention Carlson is receiving via Twitter seems to be increasing. In fact, the views of his first video have already exceeded 90 million.
