Fox News and Tucker Carlson are at an "impasse" on his contract with the network because Fox "wants him silenced and sidelined," Megyn Kelly, also a former star on the network, said Monday on Newsmax's "Eric Bolling The Balance."
Fox is "essentially at an impasse [and] they have decided not to negotiate in good faith," Kelly, told Bolling, quoting unidentified sources. Kelly's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, is now representing Carlson in his dispute with Fox.
"They have no intention of letting Tucker out of his contract," Kelly said. Kelly, a former top-rated Fox star, now hosts her own podcast "The Megyn Kelly Show."
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Kelly continued: "They want him silenced and sidelined, and that hurts Tucker, sure, but it hurts the country. It hurts his audience. It hurts dialogue in America because he was saying things a lot of people didn't ever say. Whether you agree or disagree, that's valuable."
Fox News hasn't explained why Carlson's show was canceled or why he must be silenced, Kelly added, so now he is "trying to get his troops in order."
"He's sending out, as far as I can tell, a rallying cry for his fans more than ever to boycott Fox News, not just at 8 p.m., not just at 9 p.m., not just 10 p.m.," said Kelly. "'Send them a message. Turn it off; be on my side, help me win this battle.'"
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Kelly also said she would advise Carlson to breach his contract with Fox and speak out.
Kelly claimed that Fox has already breached its part of the deal by "planting stories" about him and allowing information about his messages used as evidence in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit to be leaked.
Carlson should "walk away and say, Keep your $30 million. I'm going to get your voice out there. Go ahead and sue me," Kelly said.
Kelly alleged that Fox's use of a noncompete agreement would essentially silence Carlson during the critical 2024 presidential election.
"Does Tucker need to stay silent, even though he gave back the $30 million, or doesn't he, as Fox bleeds out in the prime time ratings?" she said. "Let's see how that goes for them."
"They need him silent, not able to talk about them, and not able to talk about the election or anything else in the news while they try to win back viewers."
Kelly added that Fox's plan of putting in substitute hosts after Carlson's dismissal will not work because people are "irritated" and "angry."
"They're trying to tell Fox, We're angry," she said. "'You did something to us without any explanation."
Kelly has alleged that Fox News, and specifically its head of communications, Irena Briganti, has orchestrated the leaks and attacks on Tucker over the past two weeks.
Briganti has denied these claims as a "lie," but previous published reports have alleged she has engaged in such campaigns against women who have claimed harassment at the network.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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