FOX NEWS CO- HOST SUSPENDED OVER PHOTO ALLEGATIONS
LOS ANGELES — Fox News said Saturday that it has suspended Eric Bolling, co- host of its late- afternoon news program “The Specialists,” while it investigates allegations he sent a lewd photo to co- workers.
Word of the suspension came one day after a HuffPost report relying on anonymous sources stated Bolling had sent a lewd photo to at least three female colleagues at Fox News and Fox Business.
“Eric Bolling has been suspended pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway,” Fox News said in a brief statement.
An attorney for Bolling, Michael J. Bowe, denied the allegations.
“The anonymous, uncorroborated claims are untrue and terribly unfair,” Bowe wrote in an email Saturday. “We intend to fully cooperate with the investigation so that it can be concluded and Eric can return to work as quickly as possible.”
Bolling is the best- known personality on “The Fox News Specialists,” a program that airs weekdays at 4 p. m. Chicago time. The show replaced the network’s series “The Five” in April. He also hosts the weekend show “Cashin’ In.”
He joined Fox News in 2008 after working as a commodities trader, according to his bio on the network’s website.
The suspension is the latest in a string of sexual harassment complaints against personalities who appear on Fox News and Fox Business Network. In July, Fox Business host Charles Payne was suspended after the Los Angeles Times reported based on anonymous sources that he harassed a female political analyst. Payne remains suspended. Fox News’ former star, Bill O’Reilly, was fired in April after several women reported being harassed by the host.
The network’s founding leader, Roger Ailes, resigned in July 2016 because of harassment allegations. He died in May.