Variety: Sources Say Tucker Carlson Told Firing Had Dominion Tie

Variety magazine is confirming claims that Tucker Carlson was told by an unnamed Fox Corp. board member that his firing was part of a verbal understanding with Dominion Voting Systems.

“On April 26, Carlson spoke by phone with one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members, who told the host that his recent benching was a condition of Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversation,” Variety reported Tuesday.

“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” Variety quoted as source. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working.”

Variety, one of the nation’s leading entertainment news publications, claimed that the alleged Carlson ouster proviso was not put in writing on the settlement documents but agreed to verbally during negotiations.

The report said Dominion had leverage to potentially back out of the deal before it is ultimately finalized in late May — if Carlson was not removed from the network.

Dominion has vehemently denied Carlson’s and Variety’s claims.

“The reports of our involvement with his firing are 100% false,” a Dominion spokesperson told Newsmax after the Variety report was published.

In a statement to Variety, Dominion stated: “As the Fox principals who negotiated the settlement well know, Dominion made no demands about Tucker Carlson’s employment orally or in writing. Any claims otherwise are categorically false and a thinly veiled effort to further damage Dominion. Fox should take every effort to stop these lies immediately.”

A Fox News request for comment from Newsmax has yet to be returned.

Last week, Axios reported that Carlson’s attorney had written to Fox claiming the network had engaged in fraud and breached its contract with their top host.

“Carlson was told by a member of the Fox board that he was taken off the air as part of the Dominion settlement, two sources briefed on the conversation,” Axios reported.

So far Fox has yet to explain why it fired its number one rated host.

But Tucker supporters like Megyn Kelly said they network, and its PR chief Irena Briganti, have engaged in a nasty smear campaign against Carlson to make it difficult for him to find employment elsewhere.

Briganti has denied such claims.

Despite denials, the Tucker link to Dominion continues to raise concerns.

Last week Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted a possible rebuke of Dominion Voting Systems.

“If the public reporting is accurate that Dominion Voting Systems demanded that Tucker Carlson be fired as part of a litigation settlement, then I am happy that Dominion does not operate in Texas, and I don’t think that they should do so in the future,” Abbot wrote.

“We may disagree with other’s positions, but we should never try to improperly silence views contrary to our own. If Dominion wants to do business with Texas in the future, they should first answer questions about what role, if any, they played in silencing a prominent conservative journalist.

Texas rejected the use of Dominion voting systems software before the 2020 election, according to Variety.

Carlson is said to remain under contract with Fox News, refusing to allow him out of his $10 plus million per year contract that would keep him from joining a cable network competitor before January 2025.

But Carlson announced last week he will be running an independent show on Twitter.

Carlson’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, is currently negotiating with Fox to allow the host to work outside the network.

Variety says if there is no resolution, Carlson is preparing for litigation and will “watch the network implode attempting to challenge free speech.”