Fox News is not happy with Tucker Carlson‘s new Twitter show, which launched last week, and has sent the long-time news anchor a cease and desist letter.
Carlson, who hosted Fox News’ popular late-night show Tucker Carlson Tonight from 2016 to 2023, parted ways with the network back in April. However, despite no longer appearing on-screen for Fox News, Carlson is still being paid and remains under contract through the end of 2024.
According to Axios, Fox attorneys sent Carlson a cease and desist letter after he debuted his new Twitter show last week. In the first ten-minute video posted on Carlson’s official Twitter account, the host touched on several topics, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 9/11 conspiracies, the existence of UFOs, and more.
Across the first two episodes, Carlson drew a combined 169 million views, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the videos were watched in full. Twitter video views are triggered when a user watches a video for at least 2 seconds and sees at least 50% of the video player in-view.
Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer who represents Carlson along with Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to Axios, “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.”
Dhillon continued on Twitter, writing, “My friend and client @TuckerCarlson will not be silenced — by the far left or by Fox News,” and also explained why she no longer appears on Fox News.
“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,” she said.
“What you are seeing on Fox today is a censored version of the news,” Dhillon added. “Keep that in mind as you make your viewing and your commenting choices.”
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…
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) June 12, 2023
Carlson was let go by Fox News on April 24 amid the company’s court battle with Dominion Voting System over false election fraud reports. The network paid out nearly $800 million to settle the defamation lawsuit.
The next episode of Carlson’s Twitter show is expected to drop on Tuesday, June 13, and will focus on Donald Trump’s federal indictment.
Fox News has yet to comment on the cease and desist letter.