Fox Corp. Issues Cease-and-Desist Letter Over Leaked Tucker Carlson Footage

Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Media Matters for America over its publication of leaked videos of Tucker Carlson.

“We write on behalf of Fox Corporation to clarify any misunderstandings Media Matters
may have had regarding previously unaired footage that Media Matters has published in a series of articles headlined “FOXLEAKS,” attorneys for the network wrote in a letter dated Friday.

“That unaired footage is Fox’s confidential intellectual property; Fox did not consent to its distribution or publication; and Fox does not consent to its further distribution or publication.”

Over the past week, Media Matters has published a series of videos of Carlson, who was recently ousted from his show on the network. One of the leaked videos showed Carlson trashing the network’s streaming service, Fox Nation.

“I don’t want to be a slave to Fox Nation, which I don’t think that people watch anyway,” Carlson said on a call captured by video. “We’re gonna — because, you know, I’m like a representative of the American media now, speaking to an exile in Romania and welcoming him back into the brotherhood of journalists.”

The network’s lawyers said the videos were given to the liberal media watchdog group “without Fox’s authorization” and demanded it “cease and desist from distribution, publication, and misuse of Fox’s misappropriated proprietary footage, which you are now on notice was unlawfully obtained.”

Carlson was suddenly ousted from Fox News nearly three weeks ago. His sudden exit came hours after Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to settle a defamation suit against the corporation.

Neither Carlson nor Fox has yet to publicly address the primetime host’s sudden departure.