DALLAS (CN) – Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren spoke out for the first time Wednesday on her lawsuit against Glenn Beck and TheBlaze network, saying she was fired and “silenced” for expressing her pro-abortion rights views.
Lahren, 24, told ABC’s “Nightline” that she feels “lost” without her job, that it is her life. She hosted “Tomi” on Beck’s network until being removed last month, and previously hosted “On Point with Tomi Lahren” on the conservative One America News Network.
Lahren says the trouble began when she appeared on ABC’s “The View” on March 17 as a guest, saying she cannot “sit here and be a hypocrite” and be for limited government while also thinking “the government should decide what women do with their bodies.”
“Stay out of my guns and you can stay out of my body as well,” she said at the time.
Lahren claims she was then suspended and fired by TheBlaze without cause for expressing her First Amendment rights, resulting in last week’s breach of contract lawsuit filed in Dallas County District Court.
“When your outlet is taken away from you and you don’t understand why and you’re so disappointed and you’re so blindsided, it hurts,” she told “Nightline.”
Lahren said she was soon after told she was suspended for a week or “perhaps longer” and that she was “flabbergasted” by the action.
Although she maintains that she has been fired, Lahren admits that she is still being paid by the network. Her contract runs through September.
“I do not sit down in my chair and deliver my ‘Final Thoughts,’” she said. “I do not have a dressing room, so I am terminated. I am fired. The way I look at things, I am not doing what I was contracted to do, which is produce a television show, a political talk show.”
TheBlaze maintains that Lahren is not fired.
“It is puzzling that an employee who remains under contract (and is still being paid) has sued us for being fired, especially when we continue to comply fully with the terms of our agreement with her,” the network said in a statement.
Lahren demanded return of control of her Facebook profile and other social media accounts. She has not posted on Facebook since her alleged termination.
“After my appearance on ‘The View,’ I saw a lot of commentary on Twitter and other platforms but I was not allowed to respond, I was silenced,” she said. “I don’t have a problem with free speech but free speech and silencing your opposition? Boy, I have a problem with that.”
Lahren was unapologetic about her pro-abortion rights views, saying a person can be both anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights.
“I would never have an abortion,” she said. “Personally, I would never encourage anyone else to have an abortion … I don’t believe in abortion. However, as someone who believes in limited government, I do believe that during the first trimester that option should be there for women and I stand behind that. After the first trimester, that becomes more difficult for me. I believe the government has a role when the baby is viable on its own.”
Follow @davejourno
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
