Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is preparing to battle the network to get out of his contract after he was pulled off the air last month, according to Axios.
Since being ousted from the network in April, Carlson has allegedly begun to ready plans for his own “media empire.” However, he can’t act on them until his contract with Fox concludes in January of 2025.
Two days after being let go, Carlson in a Twitter video teased the idea of creating a Fox rival, saying, “See you soon.”
Axios added that Carlson has reportedly been contacted by other right-wing outlets, such as Rumble and Newsmax, who have offered to pay him more than Fox.
Fox, whose ratings in Carlson’s slot have fallen since cutting loose the inflammatory anchor, wants to keep Carlson under wraps by paying him $20 million a year to not work, according to the report.
“The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous,” Bryan Freedman, Carlson’s attorney, told Axios.
People close to Carlson have said that he is thinking about creating a direct-to-consumer media outlet that would see viewers pay him directly, the blueprint for which was created by disgraced former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
A Carlson source said that the former Fox host “knows where a lot of bodies are buried, and is ready to start drawing a map.”
Another indicated that MAGA allies are prepared to strike back at Fox for keeping Carlson in the shadows.
“They’re coming to him and saying: ‘Do you want me to hit Fox?’ He’s been saying: ‘No. I want to get this done quiet and clean,'” a friend of Carlson’s told Axios.
“Now, we’re going from peacetime to Defcon 1,” the friend added. “His team is preparing for war. He wants his freedom.”