Tucker Carlson is “preparing for war” amid his ongoing Fox News contract dispute that prevents him from taking a job at another media outlet following his abrupt ouster at the cable news network, according to Axios.
Carlson, who is currently under contract with Fox News until early 2025, has reportedly been contacted for gigs across conservative media outlets, including Newsmax and video platform Rumble, since being axed from Fox News nearly two weeks ago, though it is unknown if the network will continue to pay Carlson up to $20 million a year to avoid moving over to a competitor.
After an unnamed source told Axios that Carlson “knows where a lot of bodies are buried, and is ready to start drawing a map” as the contract dispute deepends, Bryan Freedman, the attorney Carlson hired for his contract dispute, said it is “beyond preposterous” that the former host would be silenced.
“The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous,” Freedman told Axios.
According to Axios, the anchor is planning to ramp up his retaliation against the network, marking a switch up in his approach, which previously called for a “quiet and clean” strategy.
“They’re coming to him and saying: ‘Do you want me to hit Fox?’” a close friend of Carlson’s told Axios. “He’s been saying: ‘No. I want to get this done quiet and clean.’ Now, we’re going from peacetime to Defcon 1 — His team is preparing for war. He wants his freedom.”
Carlson’s sudden departure came as a shock to the cable news industry, as the network immediately shifted his 8 p.m. primetime slot with “Fox News Tonight,” which is described “as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named.”
Representatives for Fox News referred TheWrap to the network’s statement announcing Carlson’s departure, which stated that Carlson and the network had “agreed to part ways.”
