Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch allegedly notified Jerry Hall that he wanted a divorce via email - and the settlement stated that she couldn’t give story ideas to the writers of Succession.
The Fox News owner, who is facing two separate billion-dollar lawsuits, wrote to his fourth wife of six years that he had “much to do” in a blunt email note, ending the marriage last year, according to Vanity Fair.
The publication reported that Mr Murdoch’s email read: “We have certainly had some good times, but I have much to do…My New York lawyer will be contacting yours immediately.”
Ms Hall had been waiting for Mr Murdoch at their estate in Oxfordshire in June last year when she saw the email on her phone, the report says. The pair finalised their divorce two months later.
One of the terms of the settlement was that Ms Hall couldn’t give story ideas to the writers on HBO’s hit television series Succession, Vanity Fair claimed.
The series follows the fictional Logan family who are known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world, a family many believe is at least partially inspired by the Murdoch family.
Ms Hall was reportedly blindsided by the divorce and told friends she had to move all her belongings, proven through receipts, from the estate within 30 days, Vanity Fair reports.
Mr Murdoch, 91, then went on to become engaged to former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith, who is 26 years his junior. But Vanity Fair reported earlier this month that the couple had since broken up.
Mr Murdoch, as chairman of Fox Corporation, has been sued for allegedly failing to stop Fox News from reporting falsehoods about the 2020 US presidential election.
Shareholder Robert Schwarz alleged in the lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court that the directors breached their duties to ensure that Fox followed its own ethical standards and avoided reputational risk, and instead sought to keep supporters of former US President Donald Trump tuned in.
The lawsuit seeks damages for the company from Rupert Murdoch, his son and Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch, and fellow directors Chase Carey, Roland Hernandez and Jacques Nasser.
In another lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems allege that Fox destroyed its business by knowingly airing false claims that its ballot counting machines were used to flip the results of the 2020 election.
Together, the two lawsuits by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA seek damages totaling US$4 billion (£3.2 billion).
The trial in the Dominion case is scheduled to begin in Delaware Supreme Court with opening statements on Monday and is expected to last five weeks.
