Fox Faces Potential Lawsuits After Tucker Carlson Departure And Dominion Settlement

Media company Fox Corp (NASDAQ: FOX) (NASDAQ: FOXA) has had several setbacks since April, since the parting of ways with anchor Tucker Carlson and a $787.5-million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.

Lawsuits against Fox News related to Carlson’s time on air could be far from over, according to a new report. 

Fox Corp. reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit. The media company paid $787.5 million to settle the claims.

The lawsuit stemmed from anchors and guests on Fox News programming alleging that voting machines made by Dominion rigged the 2020 election, which saw Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump.

Weeks after the settlement was announced, Fox parted ways with Carlson, who has since launched his own programming on Twitter. Fox has said Carlson is still under contract and threatened legal action over his Twitter programming.

While the settlement paid by Fox is significantly lower than what Dominion was seeking in court, the network could have another lawsuit coming.

A report from the New York Times said Ray Epps has considered suing Fox for defamation. A potential lawsuit could put Fox and Carlson back in the spotlight.

Epps was among the people who were present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Epps was never charged with crimes related to the events of Jan. 6. Carlson said the only logical explanation for the lack of charges is that Epps was a secret government employee.

Carlson argued there was “no rational explanation” other than this and that Epps “helped stage-manage the insurrection.”

The report from the New York Times said Carlson discussed Epps or named him in around 20 episodes.

A lawsuit could prove troublesome for Fox, as the network gave Carlson a platform, and his numerous mentions with limited evidence may have led to death threats against Epps, who is now hiding.

“We informed Fox in March that if they did not issue a formal on-air apology that we would pursue all available avenues to protect the Eppses’ rights,” Epps’ lawyer Michael Teter said.

Teter did not hear back from Fox about the request, according to the Times report.

While the settlement with Dominion is done, Fox still faces lawsuits from another voting technology company and more. The company also settled a toxic workplace suit related to Carlson.

Even after Fox took Carlson off air, the hits for the company appear to be coming related to his time as one of the most-watched primetime news anchors.

Fox has struggled to maintain viewers after parting ways with Carlson and has made several changes to its primetime anchor lineup.

Fox’s president of ad sales, marketing, and brand partnerships, Marianne Gambelli, previously downplayed the impact of Carlson no longer being on air.

“The great news is it’s such a deep bench of Fox talent. We’re excited because they’re rotating a lot of this talent through, and I think clients, viewers, and our advertisers will have a chance to sample all of the different talent,” Gambelli said previously.

Produced in association with Benzinga

Edited by Sterling Creighton Beard and Judy Marie Sansom