Tucker Carlson spoke out Friday about his unexpected departure from Fox News, saying “I don’t know why I was fired, I really don’t,” but claiming he thinks it might have had something to do with his stance on the war in Ukraine.
In a live-streamed interview on Russell Brand’s podcast “Stay Free,” Carlson said he was shocked when he was let go in April, but that he’s “not angry about it.”
Carlson explained that, “When you work for someone else, that person reserves the right and, in fact, has inherently the right to decide whether you work there or not. You can believe me or not, but … I wish Fox well.”
Despite Carlson’s statement, tensions appear to remain between the two parties, as he and Fox continue to argue over his $20 million contract, which doesn’t expire until 2025, as well as his new Twitter show.
But as his conversation with Brand continued, it veered into a discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war and how it may have been the reason for Carlson’s departure — not the widely reported allegations of racism, misogyny and sexual harassment that led to a lawsuit from former producer Abby Grossberg, who claimed Carlson oversaw a hostile work environment.
“I do think as a general matter, not even about me, the war in Ukraine is a red line for a lot of people in business and politics,” Carlson told Brand. “Ukraine is losing the war, obviously. The Ukrainians are dying in huge numbers and the country is being destroyed. And so, the U.S. could force a peace like tonight ... They have that power. And they won’t, and they’re continuing to allow Ukrainians to be killed and the country to be devastated.”
“So, I don’t know (Fox’s) motive (for firing me), I can only guess. But I know that if you criticize that, they really are intent on making you be quiet,” he reasoned.
Carlson was removed from his show back in April, less than a week after Fox News agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit by paying Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million. Sources claim his fate was already sealed when disturbing text messages sent by Carlson were presented by Dominion lawyers to network executives, who worried the texts would become public if the case went to trial.
Since then, Fox has also settled former producer Abby Grossberg’s lawsuit — to the tune of $12 million.
Regarding his contract, Carlson’s attorney previously claimed that Fox breached the agreement, arguing that a non-compete clause was no longer valid.
