WND MEDIA
GRETCHEN CARLSON FILES SEX HARASSMENT SUIT VS. CEO ROGER AILES
Fox News star also accuses Steve Doocy of 'pervasive' treatment
Cheryl Chumley
Fox News star Gretchen Carlson, 50, filed a sexual harassment suit against her now-former boss, network CEO Roger Ailes, accusing him of sexual harassment – and saying in the same court filing her former morning co-host Steve Doocy was guilty of the same.
The full complaint is available here, but Carlson posted on Facebook on Wednesday morning: “As you may have heard, I am no longer with Fox News. I value your support and friendship, especially now, so please stay in touch with me.”
The Daily Mail reported Carlson said she was let go on June 23 for refusing to have sex with Ailes. She worked for the network for 11 years, serving as co-host in the popular morning Fox & Friends show and as a host of her own afternoon news broadcast.
Last September, Ailes allegedly told Carlson: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better,” the Daily Mail reported, citing Carlson’s court filing.
She also wrote in her suit Ailes called her a “man hater” and said she simply wanted to “show up the boys” when she complained to him about the “pervasive sexual harassment” she said she was subjected to by her Fox & Friends co-host Doocy. And it was that complaint against Doocy that got her fired from the morning lineup in 2013 and placed on her own afternoon show, with lower pay, Carlson alleged.
“We believe that the evidence will confirm that Gretchen was fired from Fox & Friends for speaking up about demeaning and discriminatory behavior on and off the set,” said Nancy Erika Smith, her attorney, in the news outlet.
Carlson, married with two children, accused Ailes of other acts of inappropriately sexualized behavior, including one instance where he allegedly request she “turn around so he could view her posterior,” according to the complaint.
Another complaint: Carlson said Ailes asked about her feelings toward him and then said, “Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
Carlson further alleged Ailes told her how he liked to stay seated at events so women had to “bend over” to greet him; that Ailes called her “sexy” but “too much hard work,” and that he told her he had “slept” with three former Miss America winners.
Carlson was Miss America in 1989.
The Daily Mail reported there was no response from Fox to a request for comment.
Carlson seeks compensation for mental anguish as well as for punitive damages, and wants a jury trial.
She said Ailes unfairly denied her “various opportunities that were afforded to other Fox News hosts,” including “reducing her compensation,” “severely curtailing her appearances as a guest commentators,” “blocking her from appearing as a substitute host,” “refusing to assign her to cover high-visibility events,” “refusing to give her social media, public relations and advertising support,” “shunning, ostracizing and humiliating her, both publicly and privately,” and ultimately, “decreeing [that] her contract not be renewed,” the Daily Mail reported, citing her complaint.
In a Wednesday statement, Carlson said she was simply trying to do the right thing.
“I have strived to empower women and girls throughout my entire career,” she said. “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. I am extremely proud of my accomplishments at Fox News and for keeping our loyal viewers engaged and informed on events and news topics of the day.”
Meanwhile, Smith suggested Carlson’s suit could be just the beginning.
Referencing the 2014 book about Fox News and Ailes, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” by Gariel Sherman, Smith pointed to the other women who’ve accused the CEO of similarly inappropriate behavior.
“The law is very clear that other victims’ testimony is relevant in a sexual harassment case,” she said, CNN Money reported. “We may be asking these other women to testify.”
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/07/gretchen-carlson-files-sex-harassment-suit-vs-ceo-roger-ailes/#iDU8geYH01lF1K4V.99
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