Fox News lawsuit claims channel 'operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult'
A second sexual harassment lawsuit has been filed against Roger Ailes, just weeks after he resigned as CEO of Fox News amid controversy over his treatment of female employees.
Andrea Tantaros, a commenter and analyst for the channel, is seeking damages of around $50 million relating to allegations of sexual harassment at the hands of Ailes, Fox News Network and and four other executives.
"Fox News masquerades as defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency, and misogyny," the lawsuit states.
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The entire filing can be found at the bottom of this post.
The lawsuit from Tantaros follows a similar case brought by Gretchen Carlson. Carlson claimed that Ailes had made sexual advances toward her and then punished her when she declined. Those allegations -- combined with reports that many other women had come forward with similar accusations -- led Ailes to step down from the channel he had helped found.
The Tantaros lawsuit goes even further than Carlson's in naming Fox News Network as a defendant, as well as Bill Shine, who was recently named co-president of the company.
Fox's former executive vice president of legal affairs Dianne Brand, executive vice president of programming Suzanne Scott and communications chief Irena Briganti are also named.
Briganti's inclusion in the lawsuit is notable as she is known among journalists to be one of the most aggressive public relations professionals in the entire media industry.
Tantaros in the lawsuit said that she believed Briganti had set her up with an interview that would make her look bad after she rebuffed Ailes' advances. When she lodged these complaints with Shine, he allegedly said that Briganti "is like a rabid dog on a chain that we can’t control. Sometimes that dog gets off the chain."
A Fox News spokesperson said the company cannot comment on pending litigation.
Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
