Early Monday morning reports claim that Fox News has written a “cease-and-desist” letter to Tucker Carlson, the network’s previous top-rated host. This letter was sent soon after Carlson debuted his enormously popular, thus far only comprised of brief speeches, video series on Twitter. Carlson has racked up about 170 million tweet views and 34.6 million video views in just two episodes with a combined runtime of around 23 minutes.
According to Axios, Fox News sent the cease-and-desist letter after the creation of “Tucker on Twitter,” notably with the header “NOT FOR PUBLICATION.”
The source claims that Fox News is still paying Tucker and that his contract demands he keep his content exclusive to Fox until the end of 2024. Carlson would be effectively silenced for the duration of the 2024 Presidential election if Fox took him to court and forced him off the air.
On Sunday, producer Justin Wells tweeted that Carlson would respond to 45th President Donald J. Trump’s indictment on Monday. He stated, “Next Episode of Tucker on Twitter coming Tuesday: Tucker’s response to the indictment of President Donald Trump.”
Harmeet K. Dhillon, Carlson’s attorney and a previous guest on his well-known national program, posted on Twitter as soon as the news surfaced.
“My friend and client @TuckerCarlson will not be silenced — by the far left or by Fox News. Scoop: Fox sends Tucker Carlson cease-and-desist letter.
For all the friends who have been asking “why don’t we see you on Fox anymore?” — This is why. I am passionately committed to free speech and a free flow of information necessary for a free society. Until Fox stops trying to silence Tucker, it’s not a place for me. And I feel for my friends working at the network which has clearly caved into pressure from some quarter to silence @TuckerCarlson. What you are seeing on Fox today is a censored version of the news. Keep that in mind as you make your viewing and your commenting choices.”
She continued addressing Congress, “For all the members of Congress, culture warriors, “influencers,” @GOP officials — do you really want to air your views on a network that spits on its viewers, leaks oppo on its own talent, and even threatens former talent for speaking, for free, on @Twitter?! You have free will!”
Dhillon, who is working with Bryan Freedman to represent Carlson, said in a statement to Axios: “Fox News continues to ignore the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations.” She continued, “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.”
She concluded, “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.”
This Post Has One Comment