Ever since their unceremonious decoupling from Tucker Carlson, Fox News has taken a noticeable hit to their ratings. The ongoing dispute between the network and their (former) biggest draw has been playing out on social media and news sites over the past few weeks, with both sides accusing the other of breach of contract.
Fox upped the ante Monday morning with a “cease and desist” letter demanding that Carlson stop taking his show to Twitter. “Tucker on Twitter” has come out of the gate strong, something of which the powers that be at Fox are no doubt keenly aware.
Carlson is two episodes into the streaming series, and he has gathered nearly 170 million views between the two of them. However, Fox News contends he is still in contract and that the show is a breach of the terms. However, the company is now being more direct in its approach, sending a letter demanding that he stop producing the show.
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Carlson’s contract with Fox, while not public, appears to be interpreted differently between the two parties here. Fox News maintains he is still employed, he is still being paid, and that his commentary is therefore essentially proprietary to them. Meanwhile, he’s arguing that they are actually the ones in breach and that, since his contract is in breach, “YOLO.”
As Joe Cunningham noted in the above article, Carlson’s lawyer and friend Harmeet Dhillon accused the network of “ignor[ing] the interests of its viewers, not to mention its shareholder obligations.”
Dhillon, who recently challenged Ronna McDaniel for RNC Chair, elaborated in a thread on Twitter:
“My friend and client @TuckerCarlson will not be silenced — by the far left or by Fox News,” tweeted Dhillon. But then she added that the network has become a No-Go Zone for her in light of their recent tack.
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 my friends working at the network which has clearly caved into pressure from some quarter to silence @TuckerCarlson. What you are seeing on Fox today is a censored version of the news. Keep that in mind as you make your viewing and your commenting choices.
Then, to underscore her point, Dhillon reminded other Republicans of the downside to leaving themselves beholden to a news outlet that appears to be focused on squelching speech rather than championing it.
For all the members of Congress, culture warriors, “influencers,” @GOP officials — do you really want to air your views on a network that spits on its viewers, leaks oppo on its own talent, and even threatens former talent for speaking, for free, on @Twitter?! You have free will!
Like Elon Musk’s stated priority for Twitter, Dhillon is committed to the ideals of free speech. If only major news outlets shared that passion…
