Tucker Carlson Announces He’s Bringing Show to Twitter — Likely Walking Away From Millions to Escape Fox Contract
Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson posted a video to Twitter on Tuesday, declaring, “We’re back.” In the clip, while accusing the media of telling lies, Carlson announced he will be bringing his show to Twitter, which he dubbed the only “free speech” platform left in the world.
Carlson’s announcement came after he reportedly sent Fox News a host of demands regarding his old contract and accused the network of “fraud and breach of contract,” an apparent attempt to strengthen his position ahead of a legal battle regarding his contract’s non-compete clause.
“Amazingly, as of tonight, there aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world. The only one is Twitter. Where we are now,” Carlson says after ripping into the media for well over a minute.
“Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter. We bring some other things, too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now, we’re just grateful to be here. Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others,” Carlson concluded.
Puck News’s Dylan Byers reported earlier on Tuesday that Carlson will “relaunch” his show on Twitter “with help from former Fox News staff.”
Speculation has run rampant since Carlson was fired from his top-rated show two weeks ago as to his next move and many pundits and observers have recently noted his relationship with Twitter owner Elon Musk may be a tell. Mike Allen reported on Sunday, “Axios has learned that Carlson and Elon Musk had a conversation about working together, but didn’t discuss specifics.”
Carlson interviewed Musk in mid-April on Fox News in a friendly sit-down that in many ways epitomized Musk’s recent embrace of hard-right politics.
Byers tweeted the news, writing, “Tucker Carlson will relaunch his show *on Twitter* with help from former Fox News staff. He will forgo at least $25 million owed to him by Fox Corp. in order to break non-compete clause.” Notably, Carlson’s longtime senior executive producer, Justin Wells, was also fired when Carlson was let go by Fox News and is likely to be a part of his new show.
Carlson’s Fox contract expires in January of 2025 and the network has reportedly been working to “sideline” him with an offer to pay the flamethrowing host $20 million a year not to work, added Allen. Additionally, Carlson reportedly received offers from both Newsmax and Rumble, both to the right of Fox News, for sums greater than the tens of millions of dollars left on his Fox contract.
This is a breaking news story and has been updated.
