OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News may be in for more departures from some of its top talent in the aftermath of the firing of Tucker Carlson.
More than one Fox News talent has reached out to Carlson since he announced he was bringing his show to Twitter and informed him that when their contracts are done they are interested in being a part of what he is doing, Variety reported.
“Carlson’s Twitter move could have additional reverberations with talent at the network. A handful of Fox anchors have reached out to Carlson directly or had their surrogates contact him to say they are eager to join whatever venture he starts on Twitter when their contracts are up, according to sources,” the report said.
According to a report by RadarOnline.com, Tucker Carlson was told by network brass he was being let go as part of Fox News’ massive $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
“In the latest development to come three weeks after Carlson was removed from his role at the network on April 24, it has been reported that one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members was the one to tell the fired host that his ‘recent benching’ was the result of the secret condition in the Dominion settlement,” the outlet reported.
The report continued: “According to Variety, the conversation between Carlson and the board member took place on April 26 – two days after the network announced Carlson’s involuntary departure from the company. The board member also reportedly told Carlson that the secret condition ensuring Carlson’s canning would not be found in any of the $787.5 million defamation settlement documents because it was a verbal agreement.”
If the network did not agree to those terms, then Dominion’s attorneys said the firm was prepared to call off the settlement and restart negotiations or take the case to trial, RadarOnline.com noted.
“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” a source familiar with the reported secret agreement told Variety. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working.”
But RadarOnline.com added that officials with the voting systems firm denied any secret arrangement had been made. “As the Fox principals who negotiated the settlement well know, Dominion made no demands about Tucker Carlson’s employment orally or in writing,” Dominion said in a statement to the outlet.
“Any claims otherwise are categorically false and a thinly veiled effort to further damage Dominion,” the firm noted further. “Fox should take every effort to stop these lies immediately.”
That claim was also made by a Fox News producer during an undercover interview.
An undercover journalist with O’Keefe Media Group spoke with Fox News producer Sean Langille, who claimed that Carlson was ousted from the network as part of the settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion sued Fox for $1.6 billion over allegations the network defamed the company with claims about voting systems.
O’Keefe’s videos feature undercover journalists and figures who are unaware that they are being recorded and that their words could come back to haunt them.
Below is a partial transcript of one exchange with the Fox News producer:
O’KEEFE: OMG News has obtained incendiary footage of a Fox News producer talking about Tucker Carlson’s departure, the Dominion settlement, and the influence that advertisers … have over the embattled network.
FOX PRODUCER SEAN LANGILLE: They gave them [Dominion] money. They say it wasn’t part of it. But we’re learning that Tucker getting fired was part of that.
UNDERCOVER REPORTER: Tucker getting fired was part of the Dominion lawsuit? Well, so did Tucker leave, or did you guys part ways, or Tucker was ousted?
LANGILLE: Yeah, he was ousted. Well, he brought up things that cost the company a lot of money…That, that was part of it. He was going to go after this whole thing about January 6 was… It was an inside job. He went after this guy Ray Epps, he said he was an FBI agent on the inside…. And basically encouraged it. He was going to go on the air and refute what that guy said on 60 Minutes.
