Fox News informed Tucker Carlson’s lawyers that he breached his contract with the network when he released the first episode of a new show on Twitter this week.
A letter sent by Fox News general counsel Bernard Gugar provided details of Carlson’s contract signed in 2019 and amended in 2021.
- “This evening we were made aware of Mr. Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Twitter in a video that lasted over 10 minutes,” the letter read.
- “Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Mr. Carlson’s ‘services shall be completely exclusive to Fox,'” it continues, quoting Carlson’s contract.
- It adds that Carlson’s contract says he is “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.'”
In a statement, Carlson’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, insisted that any legal action by Fox News would infringe on Carlson’s First Amendment rights.
“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds,” Freedman said. “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.”