In the wake of Tucker Carlson’s sudden departure from Fox News, podcaster Joe Rogan weighed in on the matter during his show Thursday, speculating about whether the cable channel locked the news personality down with some sort of “no-compete.”
“If I was a person in a position of power and a wildcard like Tucker Carlson got released from Fox News and maybe Rumble makes a deal with him or something like that. Do you have any … idea how big that would be?” Rogan said during episode 1,977 of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
“But, if I was Fox News, that’s the last thing I would want,” he added. “So I would make sure that we have him locked up for the entire term of some contract, some no-compete, and pay him off. You’d be better off just giving him the same amount of money he made when he was on the air than you would if he was opposing you.”
Rogan was joined by David Smith, a New York-based stand-up comedian, who suggested that there may already be some clause in Carlson’s multi-year deal with Fox News, preventing him to speak out for a certain amount of time.
“I’m sure,” Rogan responded. “They’re smart. They’re not stupid,” he added, noting that it was “very shocking” to see Carlson leave.
Although Rogan said he has no idea about what happened behind the scenes with Carlson’s sudden departure, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) commentator said he believes Carlson is “designed for the internet,” adding that he’s confident the host will move to, or create, an independent platform.
“Unless they’ve paid him off,” Rogan then quickly indicated.
What’s Next for Carlson?
Carlson has yet to reveal the circumstances surrounding his Fox News exit and future plans, but his departure has sparked speculation about what he might do next.
Rumble has not signaled any interest in bringing Carlson to the platform. Chris Pavlovski, CEO of the online video-sharing service popular among conservatives, declined to comment on the matter during a “Twitter Spaces” on Monday.
However, several conservative news networks, including Newsmax, The Blaze, and One America News Network (OAN), have weighed the possibility of hiring the 53-year-old news personality.
