Fox Corporation fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Media Matters for America for publishing leaked video of former host Tucker Carlson utilizing salty language and ripping Fox Nation as he banters with employees off the air.
The left-wing media watchdog group started posting the behind-the-scenes video Monday underneath the banner “FoxLeaks,” resulting in hypothesis that Fox executives had leaked the clips to justify the community’s shocking resolution final week to half methods with Mr. Carlson, its top-rated night host.
In the Friday letter to MMFA President Angelo Carusone, nonetheless, an legal professional for the community mentioned that the beforehand unaired footage was obtained by Media Matters “without FOX’s authorization.” The one-paragraph letter was launched by Fox.
“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,’” mentioned Christopher Chiou, an legal professional with the regulation agency Wilson Sonsini, which represents Fox Corporation.
“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. This proprietary material was given to you without FOX’s authorization,” mentioned Mr. Chiou. “FOX demands that Media Matters cease and desist from distribution, publication, and misuse of Fox’s misappropriated proprietary footage, which you are now on notice was unlawfully obtained. We reserve all rights and remedies.”
In a press release posted on Twitter, Mr. Carusone rejected Fox’s name to heed the cease-and-desist letter.
“Reporting on the newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism. For Fox to argue otherwise is absurd and further dispels any pretense that they’re a news operation,” Mr. Carusone mentioned. “Perhaps if I tell them that the footage came from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden’s laptop, it will alleviate their concerns.”
The community’s cease-and-desist demand comes with Fox struggling towards a tide of criticism on the fitting for unexpectedly slicing ties with Mr. Carlson on April 24, an announcement made days after Fox settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for a whopping $787.5 million.
Mr. Carlson’s present was changed with “Fox News Primetime” that includes rotating substitute hosts, however scores throughout the time slot have dropped by as a lot as two-thirds.
Mr. Carlson’s present drew a mean of three.3 million viewers in 2022, second solely in cable information tv to Fox News Channel’s “The Five.” The viewers within the primetime slot fell final week at one level to 1.3 million.
The FoxLeaks movies present Mr. Carlson criticizing Fox Nation, the community’s streaming service, saying, “Nobody watches Fox Nation because the site sucks.”
Other clips highlighted by Media Matters present Mr. Carlson making crass statements reminiscent of “I can never assess my appearance. I wait for my postmenopausal fans to weigh in on that” and laughing as he tells an off-camera staffer “F—- it, we’ll do it live!”
He jokes with Fox Nation host Piers Morgan about intercourse forward of an interview, saying, “If we’re going to talk about sex, I’d love to hit some of the fine points of technique, but, you know, but it’s your show. It’s totally up to you.”
After present process a prolonged deposition within the Dominion case, he shouts, “Holy shit, 10 hours. That slimy little motherf—-r sitting across from me,” referring to the Dominion lawyer.
Mr. Carlson asks a lady doing his make-up forward of the present if ladies truly powder their noses after they go to the toilet, after which asks, “Do pillow fights ever break out?”
Media Matters known as a few of Mr. Carlson’s statements “creepy,” however not everybody was shocked by the feedback.
“My new conspiracy theory is that Media Matters are secret Tucker Carlson fans which is why they keep releasing videos that make him look cool and down to Earth,” tweeted Daily Wire podcaster Matt Wash.
Am I mistaken in pondering these #FoxLeaks are literally growing the worth of @TuckerCarlson ‘s inventory? https://t.co/4A8XbLvK4x
— Μολὼν Λαβέ (@M0L0NL4BE) May 5, 2023
Mr. Walsh had beforehand tweeted that “Fox News teaming up with Media Matters to smear Tucker Carlson is one of the slimiest betrayals I’ve ever seen.”
In one other clip, Mr. Carlson refers to a lady he has not seen as “yummy,” after which predicts — precisely, because it seems — that Media Matters will use it towards him.
“I thought his girlfriend was kind of yummy,” Mr. Carlson says, then declares, “Just kidding, just kidding, in case this is being pulled off the bird! Yeah, the bird! Hey, Media Matters for America, go f—yourself! That’s the first thing I want to say tonight.”
“The second thing is, totally kidding, I don’t even know what his girlfriend looks like,” Mr. Carlson says. “And if I did, I would not find her yummy.”
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