AUSTIN, Texas (NewsNation) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he wants to know if former Fox News host Tucker Carlson was fired “as part of a litigation settlement” with Dominion Voting Systems.
“We may disagree with other’s positions, but we should never try to improperly silence views contrary to our own,” the governor tweeted on Saturday.
Fox agreed to pay more than $787 million in April to settle a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s airing of false claims following the 2020 presidential election.
The network has not commented publicly on why Carlson was fired. Reports have speculated that the stream of leaked texts from Carlson was causing embarrassment for Fox executives.
In one message, sent to one of the top-rated host’s producers, Carlson wrote he was “watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living s–t out of him,” according to The New York Times.
“It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight,” Carlson said. “Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it.”
But Abbott wants to know more.
“If Dominion wants to do business with Texas in the future, they should first answer questions about what role, if any, they played in silencing a prominent conservative journalist,” the same tweet read.
Carlson’s nightly program had become widely known for its controversial segments on issues of race, immigration, gender and other cultural matters. He infamously suggested during one program that immigration makes America “poorer and dirtier.”
Last week, Carlson announced on Twitter that he’s launching a new show on the social media platform.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.