Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, who left the network amid allegations of sexual harassment against former network chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, has revealed she will testify before Congress on forced arbitration, a common TV contract clause that legally binds parties to settle resolutions outside of the court system.
21st Century Fox and Gretchen Carlson said today they settled the former Fox News correspondent’s sexual harassment suit against the company. Fox’s statement said, in part, “We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve.” No terms of the settlement were disclosed, but a source familiar with the settlement said Carlson was paid $20 million.
More women have come forward as the media giant carries out an internal probe. The number of women who have come forward in the investigation to say they were victims of Ailes reaches into the double-digits, people familiar with the matter said. 21st Century Fox is anticipating having to reach settlements with some of those accusers, the people said.
In the cable news network’s subterranean newsroom, fear is everywhere. “Hacking was bad,” says one person familiar with the internal investigation. “This is arguably worse.” Perhaps the biggest object of curiosity in the newsroom these days is the internal investigation currently being conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss. The investigation originally focused exclusively on Ailes, but has expanded to other Fox News executives.
As Rupert Murdoch seeks to stabilize Fox News in the wake of Roger Ailes’s ouster, a crucial question remains unanswered: How was Ailes able to spend millions of dollars to settle sexual-harassment claims without setting off alarm bells? New York magazine says according to three highly placed sources, part of the answer is that there were few checks on Ailes when it came to the Fox News budget.
New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman has clearly led the reporting of the harassment claims against the former Fox News chief. Why? Deep sources and dogged persistence.
Exclusives
An attorney for former Fox News anchor Laurie Dhue, who says Roger Ailes once asked her if she was wearing underwear, says 21st Century Fox has not investigated sexual harassment claims against Ailes properly.
Some Fox News employees say there is an internal split inside the network, pitting those who support Roger Ailes against those who do not. Looming over the Fox News operations is a battle for succession to Ailes, who over 20 years established his position as one of the most powerful in television.
Roger Ailes has stepped down as chairman of Fox News, but the fallout from his controversial tenure won’t end anytime soon. The swift action to oust Ailes may bring a speedy conclusion to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by former anchor Gretchen Carlson. But the move could embolden other women to file complaints against Ailes and expose Fox News to lawsuits over the conduct of the once powerful TV executive, legal experts say.
If former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson’s suit is forced into arbitration, her chances of winning are lessened, and little will be made public about it.
The former Fox News anchor repeated the allegations she made last week against Roger Ailes, her former boss at the news network.
A growing contingent of Fox News employees are coming forward to publicly support embattled chairman and CEO Roger Ailes in the wake of the sexual harassment claims by former anchor Gretchen Carlson.
From the network’s inception, Roger Ailes has been so synonymous with Fox News that it’s hard to imagine the operation running without the seasoned TV programmer and former Republican political adviser at the helm. But in the wake of the explosive sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Ailes by former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, the question of succession at Fox News has taken on new urgency.
Lawyers for Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes on Friday asked a federal judge to halt anchor Gretchen Carlson’s “shameless publicity campaign” against her longtime former boss and send her sexual harassment lawsuit against him to arbitration. In a filing with the federal court in Newark, N.J., Ailes’ lawyers said Carlson’s contract with the network had required her to arbitrate any employment disputes.
The parent company of Fox News Channel said it would launch what it called an “internal review” of sexual-harassment allegations levied against its top executive, Roger Ailes, as well as one of its most prominent personalities, Steve Doocy, by a former news anchor, Gretchen Carlson.
Gretchen Carlson said that after she refused sexual advances by Fox News chief Roger Ailes, he curtailed her airtime and later declined to renew her contract.
Sexually Hostile Practices Alleged At WOIO
A lawsuit filed last week against WOIO Cleveland and its parent company accuses the station of creating a sexually hostile work environment and retaliating against an advertising sales employee who complained about it to station managers. The complaint, filed by Kevin Flanigan II, also alleges the station encouraged the use of sexual favors and sexually explicit tactics to entice advertising clients and that drug use and alcohol use at advertising-related events was common.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – Lawyers signed a deal Friday to drop a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against celebrity cook Paula Deen, who was dumped by the Food Network and […]
SAVANNAH, Georgia (AP) – Attorneys for Paula Deen said Tuesday that a former worker who claimed she was sexually harassed and subjected to a hostile work environment at a restaurant […]
