Late in April, the highest-rated cable news anchor in history, Tucker Carlson, was taken off the air. Now, new information clarifies who ultimately decided to sever ties with Carlson.

Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corporation, and Suzanne Scott, the CEO of Fox News Media, decided to terminate Tucker Carlson, according to a new report.

“The power that Mr. Carlson, 53, wielded outside Fox News could not insulate him from a growing list of troubles inside the network related to his conduct on and off the air, some of which had been grating on Mr. Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, who co-founded the network in 1996, according to the two people with knowledge of the company’s decision,” it was reported.

“The host, a polarizing and unpopular figure at the network outside of his own staff, was exposed as part of a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems as a bully who denigrated colleagues and sources, often in profane and sexist language and called for the firing of Fox journalists whose coverage he disliked. He has also drawn condemnation from the right and left for his role in fostering a revisionist account of the assault on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” the outlet added.

As the network contends with the fallout, a new report suggests that additional high-profile Fox News employees may be leaving.

Variety reported that a number of current Fox News personnel are considering joining the project that former top-rated host Tucker Carlson may be working on, which could include Twitter-based programming.

The report comes after Carlson strongly indicated in a video posted earlier this month that he was planning to air a live program on Twitter.

“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,” Variety reported.

Carlson is currently under contract with Fox News for a reported $20 million per year, preventing him from joining another network. According to reports, his contract does not expire until January 2025, following the 2024 election.

According to Variety, Carlson’s removal from the air was a condition of Fox’s recent defamation settlement:

According to multiple sources familiar with the conversation, Carlson spoke by phone on April 26 with one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members, who informed him that his recent benching was a condition of Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.

The unidentified board member explained to Carlson that the stipulation was not included in any of the settlement’s written documents and was instead a verbal agreement. Carlson was informed that the settlement was void if Fox did not comply. The $787.5 million agreement to resolve Dominion’s defamation suit against the network would not officially close until late May, giving Dominion ample leverage.

Dominion’s defamation claims were based primarily on accusations aired post-2020 election on programs hosted by Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, and Maria Bartiromo. However, the company wanted to harm Fox and, as a result, pressured the network to cut ties with its most popular talent: Tucker Carlson.

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” a source familiar with the matter told Variety. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working.” CONTINUE READING…