Tucker Carlson was reportedly told that his firing from Fox News last month was a secret condition connected to the network's nearly $800 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest development to come three weeks after Carlson was removed from his role at the network on April 24, it has been reported that one of Fox Corp.'s eight board members was the one to tell the fired host that his "recent benching" was the result of the secret condition in the Dominion settlement.
According to Variety, the conversation between Carlson and the board member took place on April 26 - two days after the network announced Carlson's involuntary departure from the company.
The board member also reportedly told Carlson that the secret condition ensuring Carlson's canning would not be found in any of the $787.5 million defamation settlement documents because it was a verbal agreement.
If Fox did not comply with the condition, the board member reportedly explained, Dominion was planning to call the settlement off and restart the settlement negotiations or force the matter to go to trial.
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"That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage," one source familiar with the alleged secret condition told Variety. "Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it's working."
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Meanwhile, Dominion categorically denied being involved in Carlson's involuntary exit from the network and refuted the reports that the Tucker Carlson Tonight host's firing was part of a secret condition buried within the larger $787.5 million settlement.
"As the Fox principals who negotiated the settlement well know, Dominion made no demands about Tucker Carlson's employment orally or in writing," Dominion said in a statement.
"Any claims otherwise are categorically false and a thinly veiled effort to further damage Dominion," the voting machine company added. "Fox should take every effort to stop these lies immediately."
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Carlson was suddenly let go from Fox News on April 24 after 14 years with the Rupert Murdoch-owned conservative news network.
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"Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways," the network said in a statement last month. "We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor."
But while Carlson has been fired from his role with the network, Fox is reportedly refusing to officially terminate Carlson's contract before it expires in January 2025 in an alleged effort to prevent the 54-year-old host from taking a job at another network during the 2024 presidential election.
"He's still not fired, you know that right?" one Fox News insider confirmed earlier this month. "His contract is still ongoing."