Who Is Bryan Freedman? Don Lemon And Tucker Carlson Hire Same Lawyer After Ousters.

Topline

Ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon and Fox News host Tucker Carlson have both reportedly tapped high-powered entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman to represent them following their sudden departures Monday, turning to an attorney known for aggressively representing A-list clients in a sign the two polarizing figures might pursue legal action against their old networks—or push the companies to pay up.

Bryan Freedman attends the Pre-Holiday Showcase featuring Kind Music Academy Students hosted by … [+] Dionne Warwick, Brooke Burke and friends on November 19, 2021 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Freedman, based out of Los Angeles, boasts a list of clients like former Bachelor host Chris Harrison, film director Quentin Tarantino and actress Gabrielle Union, while his law firm’s website refers to him as “the go to lawyer in crisis litigation.”

Freedman has dealt with messy news separations before—he represented Megyn Kelly after NBC fired her in 2019, reaching an agreement with the network to pay her contract in full despite an early termination, securing Kelly roughly $30 million.

Perhaps Freedman’s most notable win came two years later, when he worked to secure a $10 million payout for Harrison after ABC dropped him as Bachelor host over comments he made defending a contestant’s decision to attend a Confederate-themed party.

Freedman in 2020 negotiated a settlement between Union and NBC after Union filed a discrimination complaint in California, accusing NBC of firing her as a judge on America’s Got Talent because she is Black—terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Freedman is actively representing disgraced former stockbroker Jordan Belfort in his lawsuit against the production company behind The Wolf of Wall Street, claiming the company misled him about who was funding the blockbuster movie based on Belfort’s life.

The Hollywood Reporter has featured Freedman on every edition of its annual “Power Lawyers” list since 2008, while he has been named to Variety’s annual “Legal Impact Report” five times.

Tangent

Fox News intends to pay out the entirety of Carlson’s contract, which was renewed in 2021 for about $20 million per year, according to the Wall Street Journal, though it’s unclear when the deal expires. Lemon was under contract with CNN until 2026, according to the New York Times, though the network has not indicated whether it intends to pay Lemon the remaining portion of the deal.

Surprising Fact

$100 million. That’s how much late pop star Michael Jackson’s estate won in a lawsuit against HBO for its 2019 Leaving Neverland documentary, which accused Jackson of molesting young boys. Freedman represented the estate in the suit, which claimed HBO violated a 1992 non-disparagement agreement it entered while making a movie about Jackson’s “Dangerous” tour.

Contra

A settlement agreement resurfaced last year showing Freedman paid $40,000 in 1991 to resolve a lawsuit from a 17-year-old who said he sexually assaulted her while in college. The payment stirred controversy since Freedman has represented several clients who made sexual misconduct allegations—he is currently representing singer FKA Twigs in a lawsuit against actor Shia LaBoeuf for sexual battery, among other allegations. Freedman has also defended clients like Kevin Spacey against sexual misconduct claims.

Key Background

Fox News announced late Monday morning that Carlson and the network “agreed to part ways,” while Lemon tweeted less than an hour later that CNN had fired him. The decisions sent shockwaves around the cable media landscape given the high-profile status of the hosts—particularly Carlson, who hosted one of the most-watched shows on cable television. The announcement caused Fox Corporation’s stock to briefly nosedive, dropping the value of the company some $700 million in a matter of minutes—the share price ticked back up slightly after that, but still closed down 2.9% on Monday. Neither Fox nor CNN have stated why they parted with the anchors, though Fox’s decision came after it reached a $787.5 million settlement to resolve a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, which accused top Fox figures like Carlson of recklessly promoting conspiracy theories suggesting the company somehow rigged the results of the 2020 presidential election. Carlson and the network were also sued last month by a former producer, Abby Grossberg, who accused Fox of pressuring her into providing a misleading deposition in the Dominion case, while saying Carlson fostered a toxic, “overtly misogynistic” environment on set. Lemon’s firing, meanwhile, came after months of reported tensions with his two female co-hosts and a series of sexist comments, capped by a February suspension for saying Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, is not in her “prime” due to her age.