According to a report published on Wednesday, Tucker Carlson’s decision to transfer his show to Twitter is proceeding apace, and the former Fox News host is reportedly chopping up his home studio after his former employer left it in disarray.
The Daily Mail of the United Kingdom reports that Carlson and others are reconstructing the remote studio at his home in Maine after Fox News representatives dismantled the facility.
The report said “the studio — in a converted barn — will now have to be completely rebuilt after being left in shambles by the network’s crew.”
Carlson, who is under contract with Fox News until 2025 despite losing his program in April, announced on May 9 that he would be moving his show to Twitter.
“There aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech,” he said in a video announcing his comeback. “The last big one remaining in the world, the only one is Twitter, where we are now.”
“Twitter’s not a partisan site. Everyone’s allowed here, and we think that’s a good thing.”
We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, told The Washington Post that Tucker Carlson had not signed a contract with the social media platform; although there may be methods to monetize his program, Carlson’s primary objective appears to be spreading his voice.
In the weeks following the cancellation of his program, it became evident that Fox News would rather let Carlson ride out his $8 million-per-year contract until its expiration in 2025 than buy him out and lose him to another outlet.
However, there is nothing preventing him from providing his commentary for free on social media, although I’ll be damned if Fox News isn’t also attempting to prevent this.
“Fox came in last week and got all their s*** out of” Carlson’s home studio in Woodstock, Maine, Patrick Feeney, who’s supervising the work, told the Daily Mail.
“They took the set and everything, all the equipment, the chairs, the desk, the fake walls, everything,” he said.
The Daily Mail reported that the decision was made just before Carlson was set to begin webcasting on the social media platform.
So, how should one respond to such a setback? If you are Carlson, you take up an ax and begin contributing to the studio’s recovery.
EXCLUSIVE: Tucker Carlson is seen rebuilding his barn-turned-satellite studio https://t.co/aiuO0wYmMi pic.twitter.com/pcrKtb3asU
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 24, 2023
According to the Daily Mail, Carlson is collaborating with a three-person team to restore the studio’s operational status. However, he may remain silent for longer than he initially intended.
“There’s no hardware in place at all,” Feeney said. “There’s not even an infrastructure for a TV studio for a long time.”
If this seems trivial on Fox’s part, there is a good reason for the network’s stance against Carlson. He was the network’s most popular presenter, and his dismissal has renewed conservatives’ dissatisfaction with the network’s coverage during and after the 2020 presidential election.
In addition, the plethora of hypotheses regarding the cause of his abrupt departure — ranging from Rupert Murdoch’s disagreement with his Christian faith to the dismissal being an unwritten part of Fox’s settlement with Dominion Voting Systems — have further embarrassed the network.
Moreover, there are rumors that Carlson is bringing others with him to his independent venture; Variety reported last week that “a handful of Fox anchors have contacted Carlson directly or had their surrogates contact him to express their eagerness to join whatever venture he launches on Twitter when their contracts expire,” according to sources.
If they join him in Maine, they will at least have neighborly relations. When the Daily Mail interviewed Woodstock residents in the days following Carlson’s dismissal, they had nothing but praise for the former Fox News anchor.
“He is one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met who was so-called famous,” 75-year-old Neil Olsen said. “And I could just tell, he just wants to be a down-to-earth person. I haven’t met anyone who’s been around this guy that didn’t like him.”
Well, if ever there was a time to lend a neighbor a hand, especially with carpentry or electrical work, this is it.
From the appearances of things, he is preparing for something significant.