Tucker Carlson thinks he’s being ‘silenced’ after being ‘hit with cease and desist’ by Fox News
Fox News has reportedly taken action to end Tucker Carlson’s Twitter broadcasts.
Carlson, once Fox News’ biggest pundit, abruptly left the network in April, just days after the network settled a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit over the 2020 presidential election.
The incendiary right-winger then announced his intentions to revive his show on Twitter, eventually launching Tucker on Twitter with short episodes posted on 6 and 8 June.
A tweet by his former executive producer Justin Wells (who appears to be operating in a similar role for the revived show) said the third instalent was due to appear on 12 June. However, no episode has materialised.
According to Axios, Fox News issued Calrson with a cease-and-desist letter over the new show.
The letter reportedly claims Carlson remains under contract with Fox News until 31 December, 2024, including still being paid by the media company. That contract is said to keep him exclusive to Fox.
In a statement to Axios, Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer representing Carlson, said her client would “not be silenced by anyone”.
Dhillon, a Republican Party official, went on: “He is a singularly important voice on matters of public interest in our country and will remain so.”
They added: “Fox News continues to ignore the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations. 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.”
Elon Musk wants shows from all parts of the political spectrum on Twitter. (Getty)
Twitter owner Elon Musk is pushing to bring other political pundits to the social media platform with their own shows. He quote-tweeted Carlson’s first episode, saying: “Would be great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform.”
He more explicitly asked left-wingers to host shows on the platform, tagging Don Lemon, who, coincidentally, left CNN the same day Carlson parted company with Fox News, and Rachel Maddow.
“No exclusivity or legal docs required,” Musk said.
Carlson was Fox News’ top-rated and most-watched host, and has been largely credited with setting the network’s agenda.
He used his show to target marginalised groups, including the LGBTQ+ community, and enabled racist and transphobic conspiracy theories.
In 2020 he called Black Lives Matter protests an “insidious” attempt to “challenge Western civilisation itself”. He also called workplace anti-bias training “poison” and reverse racism.
He devoted much air time to attacking trans rights, claiming that kid-friendly drag events were attempts to “indoctrinate and sexualise children”.
PinkNews has contacted Fox News for comment.