Tucker Carlson to revive show on Twitter after Fox News dismissal
Tucker Carlson will be reviving his show on Twitter, after being abruptly dismissed from Fox News last month.
In a tweet captioned “We’re back,” Carlson on Tuesday shared a video discussing his next moves. The former host said he would be taking his show to Twitter, which he described as “the last remaining platform in the world” to allow free speech.
Carlson offered few details but promised a “new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years”. He did not mention when the show may air.
But he did echo many of the same points he has often asserted: that the so-called mainstream media is full of propaganda and lies.
“Twitter is not a partisan site, everybody’s allowed here and we think that’s a good thing,” he said. “And yet, for the most part, the news that you see analyzed on Twitter comes from media organizations that are themselves thinly disguised propaganda outlets.”
Carlson’s pivot to Twitter comes after the site has become more welcoming to mostly conservative accounts previously banned for spreading hate speech and disinformation under Elon Musk’s new direction. The billionaire took over the site in October 2022 and promptly allowed previously banished accounts to return, including that of Donald Trump.
Carlson did not make any mention of Musk in his video.
Twitter responded to a request for comment with a poop emoji.
Musk, who has referred to himself as a “free speech absolutist”, tweeted on Tuesday: “We have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.”
It’s unclear what Carlson’s plans mean for his remaining contract with Fox, which runs until 2025. Typically, television companies include a nocompete clause when someone leaves the air.
Axios reported on Tuesday that Carlson’s lawyers sent a letter to Fox accusing the network of fraud and breach of contract. The letter reportedly argued that the noncompete provision in Carlson’s contract with the network is no longer valid.
Fox and and a representative for Carlson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During the Trump presidency, Carlson had become one of the most successful hosts on the network, garnering a dedicated following while spouting xenophobic and racist rhetoric on his show.
His show was terminated last month, in the aftermath of the $787.5m settlement of a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, over the broadcast of Donald Trump’s lies about voter fraud in his 2020 presidential race defeat by Joe Biden.
Fox News has not commented on the reason for Carlson going off air. But multiple outlets have reported that abusive comments about executives contributed to the decision. Sources close to Carlson have disputed that.
Since his departure, leaked videos and text message have shown Carlson making misogynistic and insinuating remarks; saying the Fox Nation streaming channel “sucks”; and calling a Dominion lawyer a “slimy motherfucker”.
Following Carlson’s departure from Fox News, his former employers have replaced his popular show with an interim program called Fox News Tonight, which features rotating pundits from the network until a replacement can be found.
The Associated Press contributed reporting