The suspension came after the Los Angeles Times reported Payne had been accused of sexual harassment by a female political analyst who appeared on Fox Business."We take issues of this nature extremely seriously," a Fox rep says.
Fox Business Host Charles Payne Suspended
(AP) — A Fox Business Network host has been suspended after a contributor reportedly accused him of sexual harassment.
The network said Thursday it suspended “Making Money” host Charles Payne pending an investigation, but didn’t provide any details.
The Los Angeles Times, citing two anonymous sources, reported that Payne had been accused of harassment by a female political analyst who appeared on Fox Business.
and have a zero-tolerance policy for any professional misconduct,” a Fox Business Network representative said in a statement. “This matter is being thoroughly investigated and we are taking all of the appropriate steps to reach a resolution in a timely manner.”
An attorney for Payne didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night.
Attorney Neal Korval told the Los Angeles Times his client denies any act of sexual harassment against the woman.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
The suspension followed a National Enquirer story Wednesday in which the tabloid said Payne acknowledged a three-year extramarital affair with a female political analyst.
The Times reported Thursday that the woman contacted a law firm representing Fox to lodge a claim of sexual misconduct. She alleges she was blackballed from Fox after she ended the affair, the paper said.
She was a frequent guest on Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel from 2013 to 2016, according to the Times.
The paper withheld her name, citing the nature of her allegations, including a claim that she was coerced into a relationship with Payne.
Payne, a former Wall Street analyst, started working as a Fox Business Network contributor in 2007, and began hosting “Making Money” in 2014.
Fox Business is owned by Fox Entertainment Group, a division of 21st Century Fox.
A series of sexual harassment claims has shadowed units of the media giant, including Fox News, and led to the ouster of such prominent figures as Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes and host Bill O’Reilly.
Ailes died last May after a fall at his home.
O’Reilly hosts his “No Spin News” podcast on his website, www.billoreilly.com,contributes to Glenn Beck’s radio program on TheBlaze and continues to write books in his best-selling series of historical “Killing” books, including his upcoming release, “Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence.”
Comments (6)
Warren Harmon says:
July 7, 2017 at 9:31 am
MORE FAKE CLAIMS, CHARLES PAYNE IS AN OUTSTANDING HOST!
John Bagwell says:
July 7, 2017 at 10:12 am
Of course they are all fake, aren’t they? All of the hosts you love would never do such a thing!
Bo Berezansky says:
July 7, 2017 at 10:42 am
Whenever I see these claims I think that its some vindictive wanna be that is just getting revenge through the legal system. Lets see her name, let’s see the alleged misconduct and I bet it should all be filed in the “BS” folder. Way too easy to make these claims with zero backup. Kinda like the mob and extortion.
Dan Levitt says:
July 7, 2017 at 11:31 am
Yes, people just make up 3 year extramarital affairs out of thin air. I thought Charles Payne was great but that has nothing to do with his behavior away from the camera. Jeez, how dare anyone defend anybody based on their on-air presence. The TV Business is the most sexually perverse, f’d up soap opera in America. Nobody ever knows who is sleeping with who, TV has the most strange bedfellows you could imagine – and 90% of it for all the wrong reasons. The preeminent taboo in ( I can only speak for news) TV is the Management’s defense of the sexual harassment. FNC specifically needs to ax the underlings of Bill Shine and start fresh, having worked with Jay Wallace you can bet he has knowledge of everything that was going on, he’s been around that atmosphere too long not to know anything. BTW, some of the female managers over at FNC have a history of sexually harassing men as well and making their work life difficult when aggressive behavior is denied. Sexual harassment all over the place in news from reporters to technicians to supervisors to managers. People, give it up already. Payne will not be back. Wallace needs to go.
yin yu says:
July 7, 2017 at 1:06 pm
Enough of this garbage! Who cares? You don’t wait 3 years to complain if you are truly a victim. Would it be news if it were Shepard Smith and a male worker?
Dan Levitt says:
July 7, 2017 at 1:44 pm
no, people don’t wait 3 years to complain, sometimes men complain about the priests that played with them over 20 years or more later. Who is BeyondTheBway to determine what is true or false or timely or not based on when a complaint was filed? Hello….. complaints WERE made, especially to Bill Shine regime – and it all fell on Deaf Ears, hidden under the carpet – covered up. Maybe you are just hearing about it 3 years later, who knows if or when a complaint was filed? there aren’t enough details as of yet. Some people don’t have the wherewithal to complain at times. Boy, what a bunch of “journalists” we’ve got here – obviously none of the people commenting have an Investigate Journalism skills or basic journalism skills.And YES, it would be news if Shepard Smith harassed a male worker.