Tucker Carlson, the recently fired Fox News host, plans to launch a “new version” of his program on Twitter.
In athree-minute videoposted onElon Musk’s social media platform, Carlson condemned mainstream media and praised Twitter as the last bastion of free speech.
“We’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last 6½ years to Twitter,” Carlson stated in the video, tweeted with the words “We’re back.”
The former host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” added, “We’ll bring some other things, too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now, we’re just grateful to be here.”
No further details about the program were provided.
Carlson’s first public comments on his departure were also posted on Twitter in April, where the 53-year-old San Francisco native reiterated his belief that television has become irrelevant.
It is uncertain how this move will affect Carlson’s existing contract with Fox News, as television companies usually include a no-compete clause when someone leaves the network.
One of Carlson’s final interviews on the channel was with Musk, who bought the San Francisco-based social media company for $44 billion last fall.
Fox News, which a week before his dismissal on April 24 agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a legal dispute with Dominion Voting Systems, has not publicly commented on the announcement of Carlson’s new show or the firing. However, according to theWall Street Journal, private messages sent by Carlson to colleagues that were made public during a recent legal dispute with Dominion Voting Systems were a significant factor in his dismissal.
Carlson’s former top writer resigned from Fox News in 2020 after posting racist and sexist remarks online.
We’re back.pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson)May 9, 2023
Before joining Fox News in 2009, Carlson worked as a print reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Weekly Standard magazine. He gained national recognition after co-hosting the CNN show “Crossfire,” representing the political right. The show was canceled in Jan. 2005, and from June 2005 to March 2008, Carlson hosted a show called “Tucker” on MSNBC.
In 2017, Carlson took over from Bill O’Reilly in the 8 p.m. slot at Fox News, becoming the highest-rated host in prime-time cable news.
Since his departure, Fox News’ ratings in his former time slot have sharply declined.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach Aidin Vaziri: avaziri@sfchronicle.com