Gretchen Carlson, a former co-host of Fox & Friends has filed a scathing lawsuit against Fox CEO Roger Ailes (inset), alleging sexual harassment.
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However, Carlson is not the only woman who says Ailes behaved inappropriately around her.
In her book “Getting Real”, published a year ago, Carlson called Ailes “the most accessible boss I’ve ever worked for”, and said “he saw Fox as a big family, and he cared about everything we did”. “This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously”, Ailes said in his statement. In her complaint, Ms. Carlson alleged that Ailes worked to derail her career after she reported unwelcome behavior by Doocy, who she accused of trying “to diminish her” and even of at one point pulling “her arm down to silence her during a live telecast”.
Though Doocy was not named as a defendant, the suit accuses the conservative cad of having “created a hostile work environment by regularly treating (Carlson) in a sexist and condescending way” during their stint together on the controversial morning show.
Steve also mocked her during commercial breaks, shunned her off-air, refused to engage with her on-air and belittled her contributions to the show, according to the legal documents.
“Carlson was allegedly fired from Fox on July 23, which The Daily Beast reports was the final day of her contract”.
In an eight-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Carlson alleged that she was removed from “Fox & Friends” in 2013 after she complained about behavior by Doocy, and was moved to an afternoon program as a way to diminish her presence at FOX News. Carlson claims she approached Ailes about his unfair treatment of her, and in doing so faced further harassment.
“Opposing sexism and rejected unwanted sexual come-ons should never cost a woman her job or subject her to disparagement and emotional anguish”, Gretchen’s lawyers stated.
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Ailes called Carlson’s claims as “retaliatory”. The suit claims she rebuffed his repeated advances and then was sacked from the network where she hosted “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson”. Do you think she’s telling the truth?
Fox News boss Roger Ailes has issued a statement saying claims against him made by former Fox News Channel host Grethen Carlson are untrue.
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In her memoir, Getting Real, Carlson talked openly about being the victim of sexual assault as she looked to parlay her Miss America crown into a successful career. This is a hard time, but I have to stand up for myself & all women.
