Tucker Carlson breaks silence after Fox News exit - BBC

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By Max Matza

BBC News

Tucker Carlson has broken his silence after his departure from Fox News in a video lashing out at "liars trying to silence" honest people.

The short video was posted on Twitter two days after his exit. He did not share the reason for his departure or speak about his future plans.

Fox News has said it and Carlson had agreed to "part ways".

His exit came days after Fox settled a defamation lawsuit over its reporting of the 2020 presidential election.

Carlson made his first public comments since he left Fox News in a two-minute clip posted to Twitter on Wednesday, saying he was addressing "things you notice when you take a little time off", including "how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are".

But "when honest people say what's true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful," he adds.

"At the same time, the liars who have been trying to silence them shrink, and they become weaker."

He ends with "where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some".

The 53-year-old Carlson was not just a popular presenter on Fox News but also a hugely influential one, with an average of three million Americans tuning in to his programme every night.

How Tucker Carlson rode a wave of populist outrage

Within two hours of being posted, his Twitter message had received over five million views.

The sudden announcement of Carlson's departure came shortly after Fox News paid $787m (£631m) to settle a defamation suit brought by voting machine company Dominion.

In the suit, Dominion argued its business was harmed by Fox spreading false claims that its machines were rigged against former President Donald Trump.The case prompted disclosures of text messages that publicly aired Carlson's private views about Mr Trump and his colleagues at Fox.

The Wall Street Journal - owned by News Corp, which also owns Fox News - reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that a decision to dismiss Carlson was made in part due to messages in which he used vulgar language about colleagues and Fox management.

His exit came as another prominent US cable TV host was also ousted. CNN's Don Lemon, announced on Monday that he had been "terminated" after 17 years at the network.

Both Lemon and Carlson have reportedly hired top Hollywood lawyer Bryan Freedman, who also represented former CNN host Chris Cuomo and ex-NBC and Fox host Megyn Kelly.