FOX News has a long history of sexual harassment and sexist mistreatment of it’s female employees. And they keep having to pay for it:
Fox News has reportedly come to terms on a monster settlement payout with Melissa Francis – a former host for the network who alleged there was a gender pay disparity during her tenure.
According to the Washington Post, the network has agreed to fork over approximately $15 million to Francis, who left in 2020 after spending nine years as a host for Fox News and Fox Business.
Francis previously filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor alleging retaliation by Fox News after she highlighted a gender pay gap at the network.
“Fox News paid Kimberly Guilfoyle’s former assistant $4 million after sexual harassment accusations, New Yorker reports”
Fired Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly paid $32 million to settle a sexual harassment claim just before he signed his last contract with Fox News.
A report in the New York Times published Saturday said O’Reilly made the settlement to Lis Wiehl, a longtime contributor to his program, who alleged that O’Reilly forced her into a nonconsensual sexual relationship and sent her sexually explicit material.
FOX no longer could cover-it-up:
Wednesday’s decision seemed unimaginable a few short weeks ago, given O’Reilly’s long reign as the top-rated host in cable news.
But the climate shifted dramatically after The New York Times reported on April 1 that O’Reilly or Fox had paid $13 million to settle five cases against him alleging sexual or other harassment. More than 50 advertisers withdrew from his prime-time show, and 21st Century Fox asked a law firm to investigate a complaint from a woman who said O’Reilly dropped efforts to make her a contributor in 2013 after she turned down his invitation to visit his hotel room.
The sudden ouster of Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz and the suspension of Fox Business Host Charles Payne this week are the latest signs of a sea shift in the Murdoch-run entertainment giant in its response to allegations of sexual harassment.
In the last year, Fox has been rocked by damaging reports of misconduct by executives and on-air talent toward female workers, which have led to the removal of Fox News chairman Roger Ailes last summer, the firing of Fox News host Bill O’Reilly this spring and more than $40 million in payments to former employees to settle harassment claims.
The fish rots from the head:
Roger Ailes, the longtime Fox News chairman who helped found the network and build it into a cable ratings behemoth, has been forced out of the company following allegations that he sexually harassed numerous subordinates, including former host Gretchen Carlson and star anchor Megyn Kelly.
Attorneys for Carlson saluted her “extraordinary courage” and said Ailes’ exit represented a “seismic shift in the media world”.
The 99 Percenters 