Tomi Lahren, who was fired from Glenn Beck's conservative media network, The Blaze, earlier this week after making pro-choice comments on ABC's "The View", wants Beck to relinquish control of her Facebook page and its 4.2 million followers. Glenn Beck, however, has other ideas.
TMZ reported on Wednesday that The Blaze, which owns the rights to Lahren's Facebook page, has cut off all access to Lahren and her team, which could have a significant impact on the 24-year-old pundit's marketability. With 4.2 million followers, the Facebook page has an audience roughly equivalent to the population of Houston, Texas.
Beck uses Lahren's followers as a bargaining chip
According to TMZ, Tomi Lahren still has six months left on her contract with The Blaze and is currently in the process of negotiating a severance package. Sources familiar with the situation believe that the package will include a non-compete clause that would prevent Lahren from taking her talents to a rival network for a fixed period of time. Lahren's Facebook followers-- whether they are aware of it or not-- are most likely going to play a role in the severance package.
The Hill reports that a recently created Facebook page, "The Real Tomi Lahren" has already racked up 20,000 followers, but Lahren has confirmed to The Hill that the Facebook page is a fake.
Who is the real hypocrite?
Lahren fell out of favor with Beck on March 17, when she appeared as a guest on "The View" and referred to pro-life conservatives as hypocrites. The Blaze immediately suspended Lahren for one week.
On March 20, Glenn Beck, who is an outspoken opponent of abortion, used his radio talk show to smear his own network's biggest draw, devoting several minutes of airtime to blasting Lahren over her comments and playing audio clips in which Lahren professes to be pro-life.
During the broadcast Beck stated, "If you're pro-choice, you can have a job at The Blaze. I don’t hire people who are sycophants or have my opinion.”
Once the suspension was over, however, The Blaze severed its ties with Lahren.
