Fox News Hosts Accused of Rape, Sexual Assault, and Misconduct
DISCLAIMER: This article contains strong language and topics related to sexual assault, rape, and misconduct.
Recent news of a lawsuit against multiple Fox News hosts for sexual assault has gained traction. On July 20, a lawsuit was filed with the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York and included major Fox hosts such as Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Howard Kurtz, and Ed Henry. This follows a history of Fox News trying to cover up multiple sexual assault and rape allegations. In 2016, Megyn Kelly was one of many female Fox News anchors to come out and accuse former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes of sexual misconduct. He was accused of sexual harassment by over 20 women, including Gretchen Carlson, Laurie Luhn, Andrea Tantaros, Rudi Bakhtiar, Shelley Ross, and Kellie Boyle. All these women were Fox News employees or Republican officials, confirming that Fox News is an inappropriate and hostile workspace. It thus comes as no surprise that this new lawsuit includes so many male Fox News anchors.
The lawsuit was filed by a female Fox News producer and a regular Fox News on-air commentator and accuses former Fox News Anchor Ed Henry of sexual assault and rape. Ed Henry was fired by Fox News on July 1st after an investigation concluded that he was guilty of sexually assaulting a former Fox News employee. Before Ed Henry was fired, the media outlet was warned about his problematic behavior and their response proved troubling. Henry was promoted not long before his termination, in spite of multiple Fox News employees reporting his problematic behavior. The new accusations by a former female associate producer at Fox Business Jennifer Eckhart accuse Ed Henry of claiming he could advance her career in exchange for sex. Eckhart also states that Henry groomed her and abused his power over her and forced her to perform sexual acts for him at the Fox News building in New York in 2015. Henry is also accused of brutally raping Eckhart in 2017. Henry’s lawyer has denied all recent allegations, calling them “fictional.” Eckhart has stated, “My decision to speak out was not an easy one, but I refuse to let fear of retaliation, victim shaming, and further attacks intimidate me into remaining silent.”
Cathay Areu, a former Fox News on-air commentator, has also accused multiple Fox News anchors of sexual assault and misconduct. Areu was a regular guest on The Sean Hannity Show and Tucker Carlson Tonight. “Mr. Hannity, on set and in front of the entire studio crew — and completely unsolicited — threw $100 on the set desk” the lawsuit states. The complaint goes on to state, “He then began calling out to the men in the room and demanding that someone take Ms. Areu out on a date for drinks.”
Areu also accuses Tucker Carlson of attempting to pressure her into sex. She claims Carlson told her in 2018 “that he would be alone in New York City that night, and specifically said that he would be staying alone in his hotel room without any wife or kids.” After Areu refused Carlson’s attempts, Carlson was angered and demoted her from his show. She would be only on his show three times in 2019 and has not appeared on in 2020. Tucker Carlson is a popular self-identified populist Fox News anchor and has spent his career framing himself as a man of the people. However, Tucker Carlson’s true nature is disheartening. On “The Bubba the Love Sponge Show” in 2008, Carlson stated, “I don’t run around pretending to be a man of the people. I’m absolutely not a man of the people at all.”
The accusations against Tucker Carlson come as no surprise considering his history of sexist comments. During an appearance on “A Shock Jock’s” radio show, Carlson stated, “By the way, women hate you when they do you wrong and you put up with it because they hate weakness. They’re like dogs that way.” He continued to say, “I mean, I love women, but they’re extremely primitive, they’re basic, they’re not that hard to understand.”
Howard Kurtz, the host of Fox News’s Mediabuzz program, has also been accused of sexual misconduct by Areu. She claims Kurtz invited her back to his hotel room in order to discuss a new job decision. When she refused, Kurtz threatened to give her less air time on his show.
Fox News has made an effort to deny these cases. The network made an official statement claiming that it takes “all claims of harassment, misconduct, and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed — in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations.” Fox News has a history of protecting abusers and shaming victims. This new lawsuit proves that Fox News does not provide a safe workplace for women.
