FOX Issues Cease-And-Desist Letter To Tucker Carlson

FOX News Media has sent former FOX News Tonight host Tucker Carlson a "cease and desist" letter as he continues the launch of his new Twitter series, according his attorney, Harmeet K. Dhillon.

"My friend and client @TuckerCarlson will not be silenced — by the far left or by Fox News. Scoop: Fox sends Tucker Carlson cease-and-desist letter," Dhillon tweeted in response to Axios' initial report on the cease-and-desist letter.

Carlson's new, competing program, Tucker on Twitter, was reported to have drawn a combined 169 million views during its first two episodes. FOX News Media announced it and Carlson had "agreed to part ways," in a news release obtained by Mediaite.com on April 24.

Carlson is still being paid by FOX News Media, which claims his contract should be kept exclusively to the company through December 31, 2024, despite his termination and the competing series "is in breach." The host argues that his straight-to-camera monologue Twitter series is within his First Amendment right.

Carlson's tenure as host of FOX News Tonight concluded April 21 live broadcast and the company said it plans to have "an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named," according to the news release.

The announcement came days after FOX News Media reached a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over its personalities amplifying Trump's false voter fraud claims during the 2020 election. Text messages released through the Dominion lawsuit revealed that Carlson, who had publicly supported Trump on FOX News Tonight throughout his presidency and during his voter fraud claims, texted an unknown recipient, "I hate him passionately," when referring to Trump on January 4, 2021, two days before the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Several leaked behind-the-scenes videos of Carlson have also been publicly following his termination. Carlson was cable news' highest-rated prime time host, with FOX News Tonight averaging 3 million viewers per night. The conservative political commentator joined FOX News in 2009, having previously contributed to CNN (2000-05), PBS (2004-05) and MSNBC (2005-08).