Tucker Carlson is starting a show on Twitter after being fired by Fox News.
On Tuesday, Carlson posted a three-minute video on Twitter, lamenting the decline of free speech and saying he would bring a “new version” of the show he’d done on Fox to Twitter “starting soon.”
Carlson was ousted last month from Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp. empire. Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems Inc., which sued Fox for defamation over claims about it rigging the 2020 presidential election, uncovered evidence that Carlson had insulted management, colleagues and guests. Fox settled the Dominion suit for a record $787.5 million.
Carlson’s next move had become a topic of fascination in media circles. In recent days, Axios reported that Carlson and Twitter owner Elon Musk had discussed working together. Axios reported on Tuesday that a lawyer for Carlson sent Fox a letter accusing the network of fraud and breach of contract for leaking private messages to the media. The letter demanded documents that could lead to legal action.
Representatives of Fox and Carlson declined to comment.
Carlson’s announcement that he’ll be starting a new show on Twitter had ripple effects across the conservative media landscape. Shares of Rumble Inc., a conservative online video network, dropped as much as 14% in post-market trading.
In the video, Carlson didn’t directly address his departure from Fox, but said “the best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can, but there are always limits. And you know if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it.”
Carlson added that “there aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world — the only one — is Twitter.”
At the end of his video, the screen listed his website, TuckerCarlson.com, and invited viewers to text him.
Twitter has become an increasingly hostile place for journalists and media companies since Musk took over. Reporters who covered Musk and the company have had their accounts suspended. NPR quit Twitter last month after Musk labeled its account “state-affiliated media,” along with those for the BBC, PBS and other publicly funded organizations.
In tweet of his own on Tuesday, Musk said he hadn’t signed any deal, an apparent reference to Carlson.
“On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever he or anyone may say,” Musk said.
(Updates with Musk comments in final paragraphs.)
