Sure, Gavin Newsom, as the current governor of California, is already super famous in the country, but right now, he is in the headlines for a different reason, actually. It is him going down the legal route against Fox News, and if you don’t know it yet, this case has something to do with defamation of his image. And in case you don’t know what the real matter is, then just keep on reading to see where things stand now.
So, What Really Is The Brief Of This Lawsuit?
Just earlier this year, in June 2025 to be precise, California Governor Gavin Newsom took Fox News to court. And it wasn’t just some small issue, nah, he decided to go all the way. The figure he is pointing at? A mind-boggling $787 million. And to answer your question, it is the very same amount that Fox News handed over to Dominion Voting Systems in their prominent defamation case. Remember that one?
Well, after all this, now, Newsom is now stating that Jesse Watters of Fox News made some straight-up false statements, and that too in a live broadcast. And rather than just ignoring the matter, Newsom is, in actuality, straight up denying it.
And if you didn’t know where it all actually sprang up, well, the argument had its origin in a phone call. Or could it be that there was no call at all? In fact, the lack of clarity about the point is what the whole thing is.
What Sparked This Whole Thing?
For that specific answer, we’ll have to look back at what happened in the very beginning of June 2025. Back then, you might remember that a series of demonstrations had been escalating in Los Angeles, mainly against immigration raids. To calm down the situation, which was about to burst, President Trump deployed 700 U.S. Marines to the city. Just this step was responsible for stirring up a lot of chatter in no time at all.
Later, though, we say that at a press interaction, Trump went on to say that he had called Newsom “a day ago” to criticize his handling of the situation. But the thing is, so far, Newsom declined to be intimidated. He very promptly replied to X (previously Twitter), saying:
“There was no call. Not even a voicemail.”
What does this mean, though? Simply put, it means that indirectly, Gavin Newsom is saying that Trump is just fabricating this story.
And sure enough, not long after that, Trump shared a screenshot of his phone call log from June 7 to “prove” his point. And this is the point where Jesse Watters comes with his intervention on the Fox News show. He displayed the screenshot and went on to ask,
“Why would Newsom lie?”
Even putting up an on-screen graphic that read: “Gavin lied about Trump’s call.”
That broadcast is the very point that escalated everything. Sure!
Why Newsom Is Taking It to Court
Newsom’s team is very strong with their stance, they’re clearly out there stating that all this matter is not just because of some poor journalism. Nah! They’re referring to it as a libel, and all of it was a thoughtful thing by the Fox news and that was all to defame him.
That’s just not it, though, as per the details of this case that are made public, the suit further alleges that Fox committed an unfair business practice under the Unfair Competition Law of California. This law is concerned with the prevention of deceptive practices for the purpose of gaining an audience. And the reaction to that? Well, as per Newsom’s statement, Fox selectively took Trump’s comments out of context and then constructed a false narrative around it in order to portray him as a person who was dishonest.
And about the $787 million? Newsom’s argument is simple:
“If Fox paid Dominion for spreading misinformation, they should pay me for doing the same.”
