The conservative host’s patience with his network contract is said to be rapidly dwindling
On Sunday, Axios reported, citing sources close to pundits, that conservative commentator Tucker Carlson was prepared to continue attacking Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News if the network did not release him from his contract.
Fox fired the top host last month hours before he was scheduled to air, but did not release Carlson from his $20 million-a-year contract that barred him from working elsewhere in the industry until January 2025.
While Carlson has made no public statements about his departure or his future plans, other than a two-minute Twitter video promising his viewers he’ll see them”soon,” he hired entertainment attorney Brian Friedman to negotiate an exit contract. Sources who said they were close to the journalist said he was losing patience with the network.
‘His group is preparing for war. He wants to be free’, says a ‘close friend of Carlson’ told Axios, noting that Carlsen had previously said he wanted to “Get it done quietly and cleanly” but his team now “From Peacetime to Defcon 1.”
conservative icon “Knowing where a lot of the bodies are buried, ready to start mapping,” Another insider agreed.
Carlson’s media allies are said to be preparing an assault on Fox, with outlets including video platform Rumble and cable network Newsmax reportedly willing to pay him more than his former employer. Even billionaire Twitter CEO Elon Musk is reportedly interested, though the two have yet to discuss details of any arrangements. DDD
“The idea that anyone would want to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to the audience is ridiculous,” he said. Friedman told Axios.
In the week following Carlson’s firing, the network lost nearly half of its viewers on Carlson’s 8 p.m. in the crowd. Carlson’s show draws more than 3 million viewers a night, well ahead of the next most popular show.
The exact reasons for Carlson’s ouster have not been made public.Media critics, including The New York Times, pointed to the anchor’s leaked text messages, in particular one in which Carlson admitted to enjoying watching an anti-fascist protester being beaten by a mob, even though it wasn’t “How White People Fight,” Then acknowledge the humanity of the protesters. Other leaked texts show that Carlson doesn’t believe the claim that Dominion Voting Systems is scalping Democrat Joe Biden. Just days before firing the broadcaster, Fox settled Dominion’s defamation lawsuit for $787 million.
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