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| Gretchen Carlson of Fox News Files Suit Against Roger Ailes |
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| BayGBM:
Gretchen Carlson of Fox News Files Suit Against Roger Ailes By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM and JOHN KOBLIN Gretchen Carlson, the longtime Fox anchor, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday saying that Roger Ailes, the powerful chairman of Fox News, fired her from the network last month after she refused his sexual advances and complained to him about discriminatory treatment in the newsroom. The startling accusations immediately transfixed the world of television news, where Mr. Ailes is a hugely influential figure known for demanding absolute loyalty from his employees. A spokeswoman for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit — filed in Superior Court in New Jersey, where Mr. Ailes maintains a residence — portrays the Fox chairman as a loutish and serial sexual harasser, acusing him of ogling Ms. Carlson in his office, calling her “sexy” and making sexually charged comments about her physical appearance. Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.” When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month. The suit arrives at a complex moment for Mr. Ailes, a towering figure in television and Republican politics who has overseen virtually every aspect of Fox News Channel over the cable network’s hugely successful two-decade run. While he retains the loyalty of his corporate boss, Rupert Murdoch, Mr. Ailes has sometimes clashed with Mr. Murdoch’s sons, James and Lachlan, who have ascended to the most senior leadership roles in Fox News’s parent company, 21st Century Fox. And Fox News, despite high ratings and big profits, has been less of a dominant political force in this year’s presidential election, with the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, publicly clashing with the network and some of its anchors. Ms. Carlson’s suit, filed by the law firm Smith Mullinof Montclair, N.J., names Mr. Ailes as the sole defendant and seeks a variety of compensatory damages. Her lead attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, said in an interview that Ms. Carlson’s grievance was with Mr. Ailes personally, not the Fox network. Mr. Ailes is known as a fierce public-relations warrior who can be ruthless with enemies, and it is rare for him to be taken on so directly by a prominent person in his industry. Ms. Carlson can be self-deprecating on-air, but she is working with a formidable team: Ms. Smith once brought a sexual harassment suit against a former acting governor of New Jersey, and Ms. Carlson’s husband, Casey Close, is a powerful sports agent known for tenacious negotiating on behalf of clients like Derek Jeter. Ms. Smith, the lawyer, said that other women who said they had similar experiences with Mr. Ailes had contacted her, although she declined to name them. A 2014 biography of Mr. Ailes, by the journalist Gabriel Sherman, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,’’ recounted an episode in 1980s, when Mr. Ailes was at NBC, involving a woman named Randi Harrison who said he offered her an extra $100 a week in salary in exchange for having sex with him “whenever I want.” (Fox News denied the claim at the time.) The allegations by Ms. Carlson are sure to roil the ranks of Fox News, with Ms. Carlson describing a boys’ club environment that extends beyond Mr. Ailes. In her suit, Ms. Carlson contends that, in 2009, she complained to the network about her co-host on the popular “Fox & Friends” morning show, Steve Doocy, saying he belittled her on the set, openly mocked her among colleagues and once tried to shush her during a live broadcast by pulling down her arm. Mr. Ailes, the lawsuit states, responded by calling Ms. Carlson a “man hater” and saying “she needed to learn to ‘get along with the boys.’” Ms. Carlson claims that because of her complaints, Mr. Ailes eventually reassigned her from “Fox & Friends,” in 2013, to a less prestigious slot in the afternoon. Until last month, Ms. Carlson was still hosting that program, “The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson,” which airs at 2 p.m. on the network. The show consistently won its time slot, averaging 1.1 million viewers in recent months. Over the years, Mr. Ailes has established Fox News as a powerful force in Republican politics and a major profit center for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. He has minted stars like Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly, who now host the two top-rated shows in cable news. Buoyed by the enormous interest in this year’s election, Fox News is having its highest rated year in terms of total viewership and primetime audiences. Still, the network is facing renewed competition from CNN, which has been closing what was long an enormous gap in ratings between the networks. And Mr. Trump has at times seemed to take glee in challenging the network’s authority, something unheard of for a Republican nominee in previous election cycles. Ms. Carlson’s announcement of her lawsuit on Wednesday was carefully coordinated. A public-relations firm distributed copies of the complaint to reporters across a variety of disciplines. Shortly afterward, on Twitter, Ms. Carlson offered thanks for an “outpouring of support” and introduced a hashtag: #StandWithGretchen. By the afternoon, a link to her lawsuit was prominently posted on her personal website. Hours later, Fox News, which is famously quick to counter even slight criticisms, still had not issued a response. |
| 240 is Back:
wasn't she in the new last month for taking some big liberal position? Then she gets fired right afterwards? Maybe I'm mistaken... one of those fox hosts made a big anti-gun or other liberal throwdown. IF this is the case - she says some pro-obama shit, gets fired, and comes right back with sex claims... well... |
| 240 is Back:
'Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.” When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month." Ailes has been in the media game for half a century. I doubt he'd use these words/threats. But who knows. Weird that she was okay with all the sexual threats and jokes and belittling for years - then waits until she's let go, to be outraged with it. I'm not defending these windbags for a minute - just that she knew she was on a network that shits the bed daily on so many social issues, and she pushed their agenda for years... then when the pay dries up, suddenly she's morally outraged by what goes on there. |
| BayGBM:
"he offered her an extra $100 a week in salary in exchange for having sex with him “whenever I want.”" Cheap! Thats not even a tier 5 rate. ;D |
| andreisdaman:
--- Quote from: 240 is Back on July 06, 2016, 12:30:06 PM ---'Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month." Ailes has been in the media game for half a century. I doubt he'd use these words/threats. But who knows. Weird that she was okay with all the sexual threats and jokes and belittling for years - then waits until she's let go, to be outraged with it. I'm not defending these windbags for a minute - just that she knew she was on a network that shits the bed daily on so many social issues, and she pushed their agenda for years... then when the pay dries up, suddenly she's morally outraged by what goes on there. --- End quote --- I gotta try to use this line on women I want to have sex with....do you think it will work ??? |
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