Ousted from Fox News and CNN respectively, Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon have hired the same lawyer who, Insider notes, is known for securing "multimillion-dollar payouts in messy media breakups." Former CNN host Brian Stelter first reported that both hosts have hired powerhouse attorney Bryan Freedman, who helped Megyn Kelly secure a $30 million settlement from NBC News after she was fired halfway through a three-year contract in 2019. In 2020, he negotiated an undisclosed settlement for Gabrielle Union, after she cited discrimination in her firing as a judge on America's Got Talent, per Forbes.
And a year later, Freedman helped Chris Harrison secure a $10 million settlement after he was booted as host of ABC's The Bachelor, per Insider. Freedman is also pursuing $125 million for former CNN host Chris Cuomo as part of a wrongful termination lawsuit against the network he left in December 2021. Freedman has also represented celebrities including Mariah Carey, Quentin Tarantino, Vin Diesel, and Kevin Spacey. In recent years, he helped the estate of Michael Jackson secure $100 million from HBO over the 2019 Leaving Neverland documentary, which accused Jackson of child molestation, on the basis that HBO had signed a non-disparagement agreement with the singer in 1992.
That both Carlson and Lemon have hired Freedman—featured on the Hollywood Reporter's annual "Power Lawyers" list every year since 2008—indicates they "might pursue legal action against their old networks—or push the companies to pay up," per Forbes. According to the Wall Street Journal, Fox intends to pay Carlson his usual salary of about $20 million per year until the end of his contract, though it's unclear when the contract expires. It was renewed in 2021. It's unclear if CNN will do the same with Lemon, who was under contract until 2026, the New York Times reports. (More Tucker Carlson stories.)
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