Tucker Carlson on Twitter: former Fox News host to launch new show online in wake of Dominion lawsuit

Tucker Carlson was one of the most popular on Fox News, with his show, Tucker Carlson Tonight receiving around 3 million viewers per episode, making it the second most popular show on cable TV last year.

Following his departure, viewing figures for his nightly slot dropped by about 50% as some of the channel’s audience claimed the station had ‘gone woke’.

After promising to return in a video shared to Twitter days after leaving Fox News, Carlson claimed that it was hard to find people ‘still saying true things’. It’s now clear that having been dropped by Fox News, where he was making $20 million a year, the presenter does not plan on leaving the media world.

Carlson has regrouped, and after 14 years at Fox he will make his comeback on Twitter, the platform bought by self-proclaimed free speech warrior Elon Musk for $44 billion last year.

Why did Tucker Carlson leave Fox News?

Tucker was caught in the middle of a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion, the company behind the voting machines used in the 2020 US Presidential Election, against Fox News.

Dominion alleged that presenters had intentionally repeated false information about the company’s role in the outcome of the election. Dominion eventually settled the suit for $787.5 million (£623.9 million), but that wasn’t the end of the fallout.

On Friday 21 April Tucker closed his show by telling viewers that he will be back on Monday, however, on the morning of Monday 24, Fox News announced that they had parted ways with the host. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, Carlson’s departure came from the top of Fox Corp., with Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan being involved in the decision. Carlson was reportedly let go due to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former producer Abby Grossberg, as well as due to the Dominion lawsuit.

Is Tucker Carlson launching a new show on Twitter?

Carlson announced yesterday (9 May) via a video shared to Twitter, that he would be launching a show on the social media platform. He said that the project would be a new version of the show he presented for Fox News.

After railing against the mainstream media and telling his followers that all news platforms lie to their viewers, he said that people must be able to say what they think is true. It’s worth noting here that text messages and emails found that Carlson was sceptical about lies made about the election that he himself peddled on air.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk retweeted Carlson’s post and stated that he had not signed a deal with the presenter. He added: "On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators."

When will Tucker Carlson’s show on Twitter begin?

A date for Tucker’s new show has not yet been revealed. However, Carlson also announced the launch of his website TuckerCarlson.com, where you can sign up for instant updates on where and when you can watch his new show.

His contract with Fox does not expire until January 2025, and during this time Carlson is believed to still be paid his handsome salary and cannot join a rival network or start his own until the end of this period. It is not clear how this will be resolved when Carlson’s new show does begin.

The website features videos of Tucker speaking throughout his career, as well as a shop where you can buy a pair of socks for $25 (choice of red or blue), or a pullover for $165 among other items.