Former Fox News Channel anchor Gretchen Carlson has filed a lawsuit against the division’s CEO, Roger Ailes, claiming she was fired after she refused his sexual advances.
Carlson, who was with the network for 11 years, was let go on June 23 when her contract wasn’t renewed. During her time with the outlet she hosted several programs, including “Fox & Friends” and “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson.”
In the suit launched Wednesday, the 50-year-old former Miss America alleges her firing came nine months after Ailes, her boss, told her during a meeting “you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago.”
A Fox News spokeswoman couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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It continues saying Ailes, who is 76, allegedly ogled her, repeatedly commented on her legs, urged her to wear clothes that enhanced her figure and told her she was sexy but “too much hard work.”
After complaining about his advances, the anchor claims the CEO retaliated by stripping her of her title on “Fox & Friends,” reducing the appearances she made on Bill O’Reilly’s prime-time program (Fox’s highest-rated show), reducing her salary and scaling back the marketing support she received.
Carlson goes on to allege Ailes called her a “man hater” who needed to learn to “get along with the boys” when he heard of her complaints.
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“We believe that Mr. Ailes’ behavior toward Gretchen, as described in the complaint, speaks volumes about what she had to endure. The evidence will show that Ailes deliberately sabotaged the career of a talented, hard-working journalist and loyal Fox News employee. Opposing sexism and rejecting unwanted sexual come-ons should never cost a woman her job or subject her to disparagement and emotional anguish,” Martin Hyman, co-counsel for Carlson and a partner in the New York firm Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe LLP, told POLITICO.
The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of payment for damages.
In a follow-up statement to the suit, Carlson had this to say: “I have strived to empower women and girls throughout my entire career… Although this was a difficult step to take, I had to stand up for myself and speak out for all women and the next generation of women in the workplace.”
– With files from The Associated Press
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