Former television star Tucker Carlson reportedly has an advertiser for the video series he began posting on Twitter after being dumped by Fox News.
The right-wing influencer reached a seven-figure deal with the Public Square shopping app, according to CNBC. That app, which offers alternatives to “companies with a woke agenda,” includes a news section and blog on its homepage.
Fox News became the third cable news channel to part ways with Carlson in April after racist and sexist text messages became part of the discovery process in a Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against the conservative cable outlet, which paid $787.5 million to stop the case from going to trial.
Carlson previously had gigs with CNN and MSNBC that ended unceremoniously.
The 54-year-old performer announced in May that a “new version” of his Fox News program was in the works for Twitter. The first episode debuted in June to the chagrin of Fox News, which reportedly sent their fallen star a cease-and-desist order. Carlson and the network are said to be at odds over the conclusion of his contract.
According to CNBC, Carlson’s unannounced deal with Public Square could figure into the launch of a new media company, which The Wall Street Journal reported on last week.
Carlson’s Twitter debut drew at least a peek from 137 million Twitter users, according to Media Matters for America, which noted ratings plummeted among the seven episodes that followed.
But the former TV star rebounded last week when his friendly interview with accused human trafficker Andrew Tate posted huge numbers on Twitter, thanks to promotion by the platform’s provocative owner, Elon Musk.
Musk has struggled to attract advertisers since purchasing Twitter for $44 billion in October. He tweeted Saturday that the company has a “negative cash flow” and is carrying a heavy debt load, thanks in part to a 50% drop in ad revenue.
Carlson took his proverbial show on the road over the weekend, starting with a stop at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, where he downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and questioned U.S. support for Ukraine while interviewing 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls.
On Saturday, he spoke at the Turning Point USA conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, featuring fellow Republican tastemakers Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Charlie Kirk, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Fox News host Jesse Watters was scheduled to make his formal debut as Carlson’s prime-time television replacement at 8 p.m. ET on Monday.
