On Tuesday, a lawyer for former Fox News host Tucker Carlson accused the network of breach of contract and fraud and made a request for documents that could indicate legal action against the network is coming, Axios reported.
Fox News refused to release Carslon from his $20 million contract when they parted ways with the top-rated host over two weeks ago, effectively benching Carlson until his current contract expires in January 2025.
In a letter to Fox News’s Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet Dinh and Senior Executive Vice President for Corporate Communications Irena Briganti, Carlson’s attorney Bryan Freedman argued that the noncompete clause in Carlson’s contract with the network is no longer valid.
Freedman accused Fox executives of intentionally breaking “material representations” to Carlson “with reckless regard for the truth,” which constitutes fraud. According to Axios, sources believe the two “Fox executives” in question are Rupert Murdoch and Viet Dinh.
In his letter, Freedman alleges that Fox News also broke its agreement with Carlson when it leaked his private messages to the media. According to Freedman, when Fox ousted Carlson, it had promised not to use his messages as a pretext for taking “adverse employment action against him.” He also alleges that Fox also broke its promise not to settle the Dominion lawsuit “in a way” that indicates “wrongdoing” on Carlson’s part or would harm his reputation.
Axios had reported over the weekend that Carlson had a conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk about the possibility of working together.
And on Tuesday evening, the fruits of that conversation were revealed when Carlson posted a video on Twitter announcing that he would be “bringing a new version” of his Fox show to the social media platform.
Sources told Axios that Freedman’s letter was sent to Fox News before Carlson posted the video announcing his new venture.
