Fox News sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tucker Carlson amid an ongoing contract battle stemming from the ousting of the network’s former prime time host.
The letter reportedly alleges that Carlson breached his contract by launching a new show on Twitter that drew a combined 169 million views for its first two episodes.
Fox News announced on April 24 that it had “agreed to part ways” with Carlson shortly after the conservative news outlet agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, in which Carlson’s show figured prominently for its role in spreading disinformation about the 2020 Presidential election’s results.
Last week, Fox News asserted in a letter to Carlon’s attorneys that the firebrand personality had breached his contract by launching “Tucker on Twitter.” Carlson’s attorneys countered that any legal action by Fox News would violate Carlson’s First Amendment rights.
His attorneys have further asserted that the cable network broke its promise not to settle with Dominion Voting Systems “in a way which would indicate wrongdoing” on the part of Carlson.
On Monday Carlson attorney Harmeet Dhillon—who lost a bid to be Chair of the Republican National Committee in January—said in a statement that Fox News was demanding that her client “be silent until after the 2024 election.”
She added, “Tucker will not be silenced by anyone.”
Fox News declined to comment.
