Fox News at centre of more sex allegations
A Fox News contributor came forward Monday to level more allegations against deposed chief executive Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, two days after it was revealed that the network’s most popular on-air personality, Bill O’Reilly, has settled multiple complaints about his own behaviour with women.
O’Reilly returned to the air on Monday after a weekend report in The New York Times that he and his employer had paid five women US$13 million to settle allegations of sexual harassment or other inappropriate conduct by Fox’s ratings king. He made no mention of the case on his show.
And as many as 10 advertisers, including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW and Allstate, are pulling ads from O’Reilly’s show as a result. Mercedes-Benz told CNN its advertising had been “reassigned”
“The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don’t feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now,” said corporate communications manager Donna Boland.
BuzzFeed News reported Hyundai was “reallocating” upcoming advertising spots “due to the recent and disturbing allegations” against O’Reilly. BMW and Allstate are similarly pulling their ads.
Meanwhile, the lawyer for another woman who says she was punished for rebuffing O’Reilly’s advances called on New York City’s Human Rights Commission to investigate his behaviour.
The new lawsuit against Ailes was brought by Fox’s Julie Roginsky and is notable because it accuses Fox’s current management of trying to cover up for Ailes.
Roginsky said Ailes, who lost his job last summer after sexualharassment complaints he has denied, suggested she have sex with “older, married, conservative men.” She said Ailes would insist upon a kiss hello at their meetings, requiring her to bend over so he could look down her dress.
She was seeking a permanent role on Fox’s show The Five. But after an April 2015 meeting at which she turned down Ailes’ advances, he would not meet with her again, and she never got the regular role, she said.
She said that even though Fox executives knew she had her own harassment allegations against Ailes, she was never encouraged to speak to the law firm hired by Fox News parent 21st Century Fox to investigate claims against him. And she said Fox never looked into her charges. Her lawyer would not say why Roginsky never contacted the firm on her own.
Roginsky said that during a meeting in December, new Fox top executive Bill Shine told her he didn’t believe the allegations against Ailes until recently. But the lawsuit alleges Shine and other top Fox executives should have known about Ailes’ behaviour much earlier.
Fox News representatives did not immediately return messages for comment.
At a Los Angeles news conference Monday, lawyer Lisa Bloom detailed allegations against O’Reilly by Wendy Walsh, a regular guest on the prime-time show The O’Reilly Factor, and called for an investigation.
Bloom said O’Reilly had told Walsh he would recommend her for a paid contributor role on the network. Walsh and O’Reilly had dinner in Los Angeles in 2013, but when Walsh refused his invitation to go to his hotel room, his attitude changed and she was soon dropped from the show, Walsh says.