Fox News warns media watchdog organization to stop dripping Tucker Carlson clips
Fox has warned a media watchdog that leaked behind-the-scenes footage of Tucker Carlson to stop sharing the clips because it is “confidential intellectual property.”
A letter from Fox Corp lawyers to Media Matters for America demanded it “cease and desist” after the leftist organization published a series of clips of Carlson making off-the-cuff remarks between filming for his shows.
In one, Carlson joked about “postmenopausal fans” and made a comment about someone’s girlfriend being “hot.” In another, he calls a Dominion lawyer a “slimy little bastard.”
The letter to Media Matters for America CEO Angelo Carusone, sent by a Fox attorney on Friday, said: “The unbroadcast footage is the confidential intellectual property of FOX; FOX has not endorsed its distribution or publication; and FOX does not endorse its further distribution or publication.”
Carlson departed Fox News on April 25, where his Tucker Carlson Tonight show was the most watched on the network. Sources have linked his firing to his comments about bosses.
Fox has issued a legal notice to a media watchdog that has leaked several behind-the-scenes videos of Tucker Carlson since he left Fox News in April
Angelo Carusone, CEO of Media Matters for America, said: ‘Reporting on newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism’
Media Matters for America has since shared a series of clips under the heading “Tucker Carlson tapes.” In another, Carlson said Fox Nation “sucks” and “no one” watches it.
The legal letter adds, “This proprietary material was given to you without permission from FOX.
“FOX is demanding that Media Matters stop distributing, publishing and misusing Fox’s misappropriated proprietary footage, which you now know was obtained illegally.
“We reserve all rights and remedies.”
Carusone responded to the letter Daily beast: ‘Reporting newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism. It is absurd for Fox to claim otherwise and deny any pretense that they are a news organization.
“Maybe if I tell them the footage is from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden’s laptop, that will allay their concerns.”
One of the recently leaked clips appears to have been shot on the same day Carlson made his statement for the Dominion trial – August 26, 2022.
Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million in an 11-hour settlement on April 18, shortly before a trial was scheduled to begin.
Carlson is seen wiping his face with a make-up wipe and telling his staff that the opposition lawyer “triggered” him.
“That guy, he scared the hell out of me,” can be heard on the video obtained by Media Matters.
The text of the letter from Fox Corp’s lawyers to Media Matters for America stating that leaked images of Tucker Carlson are “confidential intellectual property of FOX”
Pictured: Carlson and his wife Susan Andrews are pictured for the first time since his resignation since parting ways with Fox late last month
Carlson made his first public appearance on Thursday since leaving Fox
”Where are you now? Where do you live?’ The number of times I had “First of all, fuck you” on my lips was like it was unbelievable. Suggesting that I was – that I cheated on my taxes?
Holy shit, 10 o’clock [with] that slimy little bastard sitting across from me,’ he said. “The amount, it was so unhealthy, the hatred…the hatred I felt for that guy.”
The day before, the outlet published more leaked footage of Carlson joking with his senior staff about his “post-menopausal fans.”
Carlson made his first public appearance on Thursday night after leaving Fox with a speech at the Oxford Performing Arts Center in Oxford, Alabama, for the annual Rainbow Omega fundraiser.
Carlson, who made $20 million a year at Fox, quipped, “I’m probably the first unemployed person you’ve ever invited to speak.
‘It is funny. I never give speeches because I’m at work. When I accepted this speech six months ago or something, I didn’t realize how much free time I would have.
“You never know, do you?”