Tucker Carlson’s Twitter plans amplify tensions with Fox News

Tucker Carlson’s announcement that he intends to launch a new version of his now-canceled Fox News program on Twitter provided the clearest window yet into the pundit’s plans for the future — and a feud with his former employer that shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

What remains to be seen is whether Carlson, who remains under contract with the network, can use his teased social media project to maintain his high profile while tensions with Fox permeate behind the scenes. 

Fox has not commented on a video Carlson posted Tuesday on Twitter announcing his plans to move his show to the social media platform.

But it is clear there are questions about whether he can do so given his contractual agreements with Fox.

Axios on Tuesday reported Bryan Freedman, a high-profile media attorney representing Carlson, sent a letter to top brass at Fox accusing the network of breaching its contract with the host. The Axios report was published within minutes of Carlson’s Twitter video being posted.

Freedman’s letter charges that the network broke an agreement with Carlson not to leak his private communications or use Carlson’s private messages “to take any adverse employment action against him,” the outlet reported. 

In the days following his departure from the network, a series of media reports surfaced detailing Carlson’s private text messages, some of which had been redacted in court filings but became known to Fox leadership as part of Dominion Voting Systems’s recent litigation against the network. In some of those messages, Carlson disparaged company executives.

Fox has not responded to Freedman’s letter as of Wednesday or publicly commented on the circumstances surrounding its decision to oust Carlson beyond a statement the day he was pulled off the air thanking him for his service to the network.

Outside observers familiar with media contracts in general say Carlson could be in breach of his contract with Fox by taking his show to Twitter. But some said it would be a difficult business decision for Fox to go after him.

“Fox can either let him flagrantly violate his contract or sue him and get on the wrong side of any viewers that have stuck with them through his firing,” said one conservative media executive who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

Carlson hosted one of Fox’s most popular shows before he left, and his video announcing his plans to go to Twitter received 21 million views in its first 24 hours online.

“From a contractual standpoint, Fox’s position is probably the right one, but from a PR standpoint, Tucker’s point is probably the right one, which is why they should have never let it get this far in the first place,” the media executive said.

During an investor call earlier on Tuesday, Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corp., dismissed a question about the decision to oust Carlson. 

“There is no change to our programming strategy at Fox News,” Murdoch said. “As always, we are adjusting our programming and lineup, and that is what we continue to do.”

In his video this week, Carlson signaled he is not interested in sitting the next election cycle out. 

“The best you can hope for in the news business is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits,” Carlson said in his video. “And you know if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it.” 

Peter Rahbar, a workplace legal expert who has more than two decades of experience negotiating broadcast talent agreements, said Carlson’s announcement this week could be a ploy to force Fox to the negotiating table as he eyes his next career opportunity. 

“I would say in general, Fox has the upper hand legally here, which based on everything we’re seeing from Carlson’s side would support that,” Rahbar said. “If they thought they had a strong legal basis to [start a new venture], they would just go do it. They wouldn’t be writing letters to Fox, they wouldn’t be doing media campaigns … but they know that would potentially put them in tens of millions of dollars in liability, so they’re trying to force Fox into a negotiated settlement — and it’s not working yet.” 

The network also has few incentives to want to pick a public legal fight with Carlson, others say. 

“This is a no-win situation for Fox,” one national leading Republican strategist told The Hill. “If Fox fights this out in the court and they try and say, ‘Tucker is in breach,’ and they try to gag him, that’s going to blow back on them in a big way with their core audience.” 

Fox has survived ugly breakups with leading talent in the past.

Former host Bill O’Reilly was forced out after an explosive sexual harassment scandal, while anchor Megyn Kelly left the network in 2017 and has since publicly complained about how she was treated by network leadership. 

Yet Fox remains the top-watched news channel on cable, touting popular programs like “The Five” and Greg Gutfeld’s Late Night comedy show, with one recent YouGov poll showing its viewers listed it as among the news sources they trust the most.  

Meanwhile, leading advertising executives at the network said this week blue-chip companies who had been wary of buying airtime next to Carlson’s at-times controversial program had returned to its 8 p.m. hour since his ouster. 

Still, a public war with Carlson could end up being risky for the network still reeling from a massive settlement paid to Dominion and the $50 million net loss it took in the first quarter of 2023. 

“I don’t think either side generally cares about the money, which is pretty amazing,” Rahbar said. “For Carlson to sit out for a year and half while his contract expires is a no-go. Actually litigating this case is a really bad option for Tucker. There will be a lot of pressure to settle this from his side, but I don’t think Fox is going to be in a rush to do so.”