Former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is begging former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to “speak out” regardless of possible legal ramifications from his former employer.
Fox News announced on Monday that Carlson was abruptly leaving the network, shocking conservatives who were loyal viewers of his popular opinion show. Carlson has yet to publicly weigh in on his departure, prompting some speculation that he may have signed a contract with the network that requires him to remain silent.
Lake lamented Carlson’s exit from cable news during an interview with Newsmax host Eric Bolling on Tuesday. She argued that conservatives “can’t afford” for Carlson to keep quiet and directly pleaded with him to speak out even if he breaks the terms of his contract and gets sued by Fox News, offering to start a legal defense fund on his behalf.
“I don’t know what Tucker’s deal is, but I worry that he might still be under contract and they’re literally going to be paying him 10, 20, 30 million a year to just sit there and be quiet,” Lake said. “We can’t afford to have Tucker Carlson’s voice silenced for 1 1/2 years.”
“I don’t know if Tucker is listening to this,” she continued. “But if he happens to hear it: I beg you, Tucker Carlson, to speak out. Break the terms of that contract, we need your voice over the next 1 1/2 years to save our country. And if you get sued by your former employer, we will help create a defense fund to help you fight that lawsuit.”
The terms of any contract that Carlson may have signed with Fox News are not publicly known. However, is not uncommon for company contracts to include provisions that prevent former employees from competing against them by doing a similar job for a time after leaving their employer.
Carlson could, in theory, be forced to remain off the air or face significant legal and financial repercussions if he is still legally obliged to follow a contract that includes a non-compete clause.
Newsweek has reached out via email to Carlson’s attorney and Fox News for comment.
Steve Bannon, ex-adviser to former President Donald Trump, blasted Fox for showing Carlson a “lack of respect” and attempting to silence “the voice of MAGA” during his War Room podcast on Tuesday. Bannon also asserted that Carlson was still under contract.
“He’s got a long-term contract,” said Bannon. “I think he’s still got a couple of years, two or three years, left on the contract … They pay him out the $20 million, he doesn’t have the option of going somewhere else.”
“This is to take the voice of populism and the voice of MAGA off of prime time,” he continued. “Its all about stopping Trump and stopping MAGA.”
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