Some conservatives call for boycott of Fox News after reports surface
Tucker Carlson in Esztergom, Hungary, on Aug. 7, 2021. (Janos Kummer/Getty Images)
By Jack Phillips
June 8, 2023 Updated: June 8, 2023
5–6 minutes
A lawyer for Tucker Carlson issued a response after reports claimed that Fox News sent a letter accusing him of violating his contract by launching his own Twitter show this week.
“Fox defends its very existence on freedom of speech grounds. Now they want to take Tucker Carlson’s right to speak freely away from him because he took to social media to share his thoughts on current events,” Carlson’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a
statement to Axios on Wednesday, appearing to confirm reports that Fox News notified Carlson’s lawyers about a possible contract violation.
A letter was sent by Fox News’ counsel, Bernard Gugar, to Carlson’s attorneys saying that he now “is in breach” of his contract with Fox News after he premiered the first episode of his new Twitter show, “Tucker on Twitter,” on Tuesday night. The first installment generated more than 100 million views on the social media platform.
“In connection with such breach and pursuant to the Agreement, Fox expressly reserves all rights and remedies which are available to it at law or equity,” the letter from Gugar stated, according to Axios. The Epoch Times could not verify the authenticity of the contents of the letter.
It continues: “This evening we were made aware of Mr. Tucker Carlson’s appearance on Twitter in a video that lasted over 10 minutes … pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Mr. Carlson’s ‘services shall be completely exclusive to Fox,'” while appearing to quote Carlson’s contract.
The letter further stipulated that Carlson’s contract says that he is “prohibited from rendering services of any type whatsoever, whether ‘over the internet via streaming or similar distribution, or other digital distribution whether now known or hereafter devised.'”
About a month ago, Fox News issued a news release saying that it had parted ways with Carlson for unclear reasons. Neither Fox nor Carlson have publicly commented on the split, although Carlson hinted in a video last month that he may have reported on topics that the company’s management disagreed with.
The Epoch Times has approached Fox News and Freedman for comment about the letter. As of Thursday, neither Carlson nor Fox News have issued public comments about the letter sent to the former host’s lawyers.
Calls for Boycott
After the Axios report was published Wednesday about Fox’s demand letter, some conservative influencers and journalists issued calls for a boycott, while criticizing Fox News.
Longtime journalist Glenn Greenwald, who had frequently appeared on Carlson’s former Fox News show, wrote that “this is pathetic of Fox,” adding that “they fired Carlson, and now their position is: he’s not allowed to speak.”
An advertisement features Fox News personalities, including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, in New York City, on March 13, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“He didn’t go to a competing network. He has no contract with Twitter. He’s just speaking on social media. And to Fox, that’s cause to threaten to sue him. They want him quiet,” Greenwald
wrote on Twitter.
“Ideology played a big role in Carlson’s firing. He was increasingly at odds with GOP establishment dogma,” he continued to say, adding that on his show, “His primary targets, besides CIA/FBI, were the Mitch McConnells and Lindsey Grahams, along with Biden’s Ukraine war policy. Fox wants to re-boost the GOP establishment.”
Another major conservative account, Rogan O’Handley, or “DC Draino,”
suggested Fox News viewers boycott the channel: “They claim it’s a breach of contract Maybe we boycott Fox News until they stop trying to silence one of the biggest voices before the 2024 election? FREE SPEECH.”
“I have not turned on Fox News since the last day of Tucker’s show. I will not turn on Fox News ever again. Channel doesn’t exist to me. It’s not an option. I don’t watch much TV other than live sports. I watch old movies on Amazon Prime. Maybe once a week I turn on CNN. I get my news from Twitter. I’m shocked to say that. But this is where I stay up to date,” commentator Jason Whitlock
wrote, responding to the development.
And Patrick Byrne, the founder of Overstock.com,
wrote: “Boycott Fox News.”
In the one month after Carlson’s exit, Fox News has seen its primetime ratings slump, according to Nielsen. But Fox is still the No. 1-rated cable news channel overall, a spokesperson for the company recently pointed out in a statement to The Epoch Times.
With the recent drop in ratings, a conservative-led boycott could be devastating for Fox. Multiple major brands targeted for boycotts, including Target and Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch, have seen their shares plummet in recent weeks.
Target Corporation’s stock has dropped about 16 percent in the past month, while sales of Bud Light have posted year-over-year declines for consecutive weeks starting in early April. Target was criticized for selling LGBT products for children, while Bud Light received backlash for its decision to produce a beer can with a transgender influencer’s face on it.
Fox News has not yet responded to a request for comment on the recent calls to boycott the channel.