- Fox Corp. issues cease-and-desist letter to Media Matters for America over Tucker Carlson's leaked footage
- Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said reporting on newsworthy leaked material is the essence of journalism
- The videos show Carlson making crude and sexist remarks, with one where he can beard calling a woman "yummy"
Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Media Matters for America over the publication of leaked footage showing former host Tucker Carlson making crude and sexist remarks off the air.
The attorneys for the network wrote in the letter dated Friday that they were writing on behalf of Fox Corporation to clarify any misunderstandings. They noted that the unaired footage was part of Fox's confidential intellectual property and that the network did not consent to its distribution or publication.
Fox Issues Cease-and-Desist Letter to Media Matters
The lawyers for the network added that the footage was provided to the liberal media watchdog group despite not having Fox's authorization. They demanded that it "cease and desist from distribution, publication, and misuse of Fox's misappropriated proprietary footage," as per The Hill.
On Friday, the president of Media Matters, Angelo Carusone, spoke in an interview and said that reporting on newsworthy leaked material was the cornerstone of journalism. He added that the fact that Fox argues otherwise could be considered "absurd" and makes it seem like they are not a news operation.
Carusone said that their concerns would be alleviated if he told Fox that the leaked videos came from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden's laptop. Over the past few days, his media outlet has published several videos of Carlson, who recently parted ways with Fox News.
In the footage, Carlson could be heard making crude and sexist remarks about women, and he also complained about the network on the set of his popular show. In one instance, the former Fox host said that a woman was "yummy"; in another, he asked a female makeup artist whether or not they had "pillow fights" in the restroom.
Tucker Carlson Video Leaks
The situation comes after Carlson's sudden parting of ways with Fox News following a settlement deal between the media outlet and Dominion Voting Systems. It also comes as leaks of text messages from the former host show him making other nasty comments, according to CNN.
In one video, Carlson called a Dominion lawyer a "slimy little motherf**ker" and told his producer how much he hated him. The former Fox host argued that he did not want to feel that way and that the other guy triggered him to make those remarks.
The settlement between Fox News and Dominion amounted to $787.5 million, half of what the latter initially wanted from the news outlet. The case focused on how the media company published false information and stories regarding the 2020 presidential elections.
Before the settlement agreement, many of Fox's staff members were set to testify in court to clarify any allegations made to the company they work for, which included Carlson, said Deadline.
