The Fox News Division and Fox Corporation have long been dogged by lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and abuse among the executives and on-air talent. Here’s a summary of previous legal action against Fox executives and talent, some leading to their biggest stars being fired or leaving voluntarily, like Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes.
July 6, 2016: Gretchen Carlson files lawsuit against Roger Ailes
Former “Fox & Friends” anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, who denied her claims.
July 9, 2016: Six other women claim Ailes harassed them
Former Republican National Committee field adviser Kellie Boyle and model Marsha Callahan were among the six women who accused Ailes of previous harassment. Ailes denied the claims.
July 19, 2016: Megyn Kelly says she was sexually harassed by Ailes
Amid an external law firm’s investigation into the multiple claims against Ailes, then-primetime host Megyn Kelly told investigators that she had been harassed by Ailes years ago. Kelly wrote in her memoir that she talked to investigators about the allegations.
July 21, 2016: Ailes resigns
Fox News announced that Ailes had resigned as network chairman after two decades of dominating cable news, walking away with a $40 million severance package.
Jan. 10, 2017: Bill O’Reilly settlement comes to light
News surfaced that the “O’Reilly Factor” host had previously settled with Juliet Huddy, a Fox News employee who claimed he tried to derail her career after she rebuffed his rommantic advances.
March 8, 2017: Fox News settles with Tamara N. Holder
Fox News paid former on-air contributor Tamara N. Holder more than $2.5 million following allegations that Fox News Latino vice president Francisco Cortes tried to coerce her into performing oral sex on him.
March 24, 2017: Fox News comptroller Judy Slater sacked
Fox News has fired longtime comptroller Judy Slater after an internal investigation concluded she had engaged in a pattern of racist comments and behavior; several of the employees later filed lawsuits against the network over the incidents.
April 1, 2017: Claims against O’Reilly settled for $13 million
A New York Times investigation found that O’Reilly and Fox News had paid $13 million in total to five women who had worked or appeared on “O’Reilly Factor” over the years and made claims of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior.
April 3, 2017: Another lawsuit against Ailes and Fox News
Fox News contributor Julie Roginsky filed a lawsuit accusing Ailes of sexually harassing her. She also alleged that Fox News co-president Bill Shine retaliated against her for making the claims. Ailes denied the allegations, and Shine declined to comment.
April 19, 2017: Fox News cuts ties with O’Reilly
Fox News announced that O’Reilly would not return to the network following its external investigation into claims of sexual harassment.
April 21, 2017: Debbie Schlussel claims Sean Hannity invited her to his hotel
Former Fox News guest Debbie Schlussel claimed that primetime host Sean Hannity had once invited her back to his hotel after an event they attended and that she was never invited back to Hannity’s show after she rebuffed his advances. The host denied the claims. Schlussel later clarified that she did not consider the encounter to constitute sexual harassment. “I thought he was weird and creepy,” she told LawNewz.
April 24, 2017: Andrea Tarantos files her own lawsuit
Andrea Tantaros, a former host of the Fox show “The Five,” filed a new lawsuit against Ailes, Shine, and other network executives, claiming that an extensive online harassment campaign had been waged against her. Fox news sought arbitration and called Tantaros “not a victim” but “an opportunist.”
May 1, 2017: Bill Shine resigns
Following Roginsky and Tarantos’ lawsuits, Fox News announced that Shine was exiting the network.
May 19, 2017: Bob Beckel fired at Fox News
Fox News fired “The Five” co-host Bob Beckel on Friday after he was accused of making an insensitive remark to an African-American employee. Fox News human resources took less than 48 hours to investigate the incident and recommend dismissal, a network executive told TheWrap.
June 19, 2017: Investigation by the state of New York
The New York State Division on Human Rights launched an investigation into Fox News, over her sexual harassment claims by former “O’Reilly Factor” guest commentator Wendy Walsh against O’Reilly, Walsh’s attorney Lisa Bloom said. O’Reilly has denied Walsh’s claims.
July 3, 2017: Fox Sports fires Jamie Horowtiz
Jamie Horowitz was abruptly ousted from his position as president of Fox Sports National Networks amid allegations of sexual harassment against Horowitz, an individual familiar with the matter told the New York Times. Horowitz’s attorney denied any misconduct.
July 6, 2017: Fox Business suspends Charles Payne
Charles Payne, the host of Fox Business’ “Making Money,” was suspended by the network due to an investigation over a three-year relationship with a married political analyst who appeared as a guest on Fox Business and Fox News, the Los Angeles Times reported. Payne denied allegations of sexual harassment, calling them an “ugly lie.”
Fox Corporation owns the portion of 21st Century Fox that was not purchased by The Walt Disney Corporation and owns the Fox News Division along with Fox Sports. A 42-page lawsuit against Fox Sports Executive V.P. Charlie Dixon, Skip Bayless, Joy Taylor, and 25 anonymous individuals has been filed. The complaint lists six class action complaints and eight individual complaints and demands a jury trial for its resolution.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT:
1. Failure To Pay Minimum Wages
2. Failure To Pay Overtime Wages
3. Failure To Reimburse Business Expenses
4. Failure To Pay All Wages Upon Separation
5. Failure To Furnish Accurate Itemized
Wage Statements
6. Unfair, Unlawful, Or Fraudulent Business
Practices
INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINT:
7. Sexual Battery
8. Hostile Work Environment (Sex/Gender)
9. Hostile Work Environment (Race/National
Origin)
10. Hostile Work Environment (Disability)
11. Failure To Prevent Harassment
12. Negligent Supervision, Hiring, And
Retention
13. Retaliation
14. Wrongful Termination
It must be said that a civil lawsuit is comprised of allegations until proven, and the tendency is to throw several things against the wall, hoping something sticks. The lawsuit is brought by long-term hairstylist Noushin Faraji, who alleges, among other things, that Skip Bayless offered her $1.5 million to sleep with her (she refused) and that Bayless often accused her of having a sexual relationship with then co-host Shannon Sharpe. It is alleged Bayless later discovered that the relationship never occurred and apologized, still trying to get Faraju into bed.
The complaint alleges a lot of bed-hopping between Fox Sports employees and talent and multiple statements about executives demanding talent and staff sleep with them to retain their jobs. When reading through the complaint, it doesn’t seem that Ms. Faraji could have personal knowledge of some of her allegations and could be stating an opinion. That’s what the courts are for: to sort out the truth.
In full disclosure, I have watched many of the shows mentioned in the complaint, including Undisputed, Speak, and The Herd. I haven’t repeated some of the claims where Ms. Faraji could not have been present to witness, though some form of proof may be forthcoming. Some of her claims are irrelevant to her situation but are just salacious gossip. Feel free to read the complaint for yourself.
Some of those mentioned are already coming under attack on social media, some without a shred of proof thus far. Fox Sports has generally tried to distance itself from Fox News and its politics and history of sexual shenanigans. I can picture the people who work there firmly stating, “We aren’t them.” It turns out, yes, you are.
This article originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium.