So, Eric Bolling is out at Fox News. Yet another Fox News personality is gone due to allegations of sex harassment. See CNN news report. I previously wrote about Mr. Boling’s troubles here. Mr. Bolling was accused of sending lewd text messages to several female co-workers.

The Fox News boys club may be nearing its end.

There must be something in the water at Fox News. They keep having issues with sexual harassment. Eroic Bolling, a news host, has been accused by several female co-workers of sending photos of his genitals via text messages. Huffington Post reported that more than a dozen sources said he had sent unsolicited photos of his private parts. Fox News has placed Mr. Bolling on suspension pending an investigation. A lawyer for Mr,. Bolling denies the claims.

See CNN News report. Not surprisingly, Mr. Bolling has been a strong supporter of Pres. Trump. Roger Ailes was accused of sexual harassment and was also a friend of the President. The President seems to favor men who harass women. I previously wrote about Roger Ailes here and here. And, then there were the reports of Bill O’Reilly harassing women and then reaching large settlements with them to keep them quiet. I wrote about Bill O’Reilly here and here. And, of course, Pres. Trump supported Bill O’Reilly when he was accused of sexual harassment, as well.

Well, Bill O’Reilly is out at Fox News. His show was cancelled after the settlements surfaced. I wrote about those settlements here. The news report refers to the settlements as allegations. But, when someone pays $13 million for five different accusations, it is more than mere allegations. See CNN news report. Persons do not pay that sort of money unless there is proof to back up such claims.

Of course, this only happened because the five different settlements were exposed. I assume his show would still be on the air if the New York Times had not exposed Mr. O’Reilly’s history of sexual harassment. And, what can we say when the President of the United States has expressed support for two sexual predators, Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes?

The boys at Fox News just cannot seem to stay out of trouble. Another female employee has filed suit against Fox News and Roger Ailes. Julie Roginsky filed suit alleging sexual discrimination against the network. She claims that Roger Ailes offered her a regular spot on the show, “The Five,” in return for a sexual relationship. She refused. According to her suit, her career was then sabotaged. She also says the network retaliated against her when she she would not publicly defend Mr. Ailes last year when Gretchen Carlson filed her sexual discrimination lawsuit against the former executive.

20th Century Fox settled Gretchen Carlson’s claims for $20 million last year. The company also settled claims made by Laurie Dhue and Juliet Huddy, who had accused Bill O’Reilly of sexual harassment, for over $1 million each. It paid $2.5 million to Tamara Holder to resolve her allegations against Fox News Vice-President Fransisco Cortes. And, the lawsuit filed last year by Andrea Tantaros is still ongoing. I previously wrote about Ms. Tantaso’ lawsuit here. See Politico news report here.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Ailes advised the young employee to get involved with older, married, conservative men because they may stray but they are loyal and will always come back. During meetings, he would always insist on a kiss hello from Ms. Roginsky. See CNN news report.

In the meantime, two brands, Mercedes and Hyundai, have pulled their ads from the Bill O’Reilly show. See CNN news report.

 

Andrea Tantaros, has sued Fox News for sexual harassment. I wrote about that suit here. Now, Fox News has asked that her case be sent to arbitration with the American Arbitration Association. In effect, it is asking that her case be sent to the secret, Star chamber of American society. But, in so doing, they first lodge some pretty strong attacks against her. In its motion to refer to arbitration, the news outlet accuses her of not recalling the specific instances of sexual harassment; it claims the men involved all denied her claims; it claims she did not allow Fox News to review the cover of her book before she published it; and it claims her lawsuit is littered with falsehoods. It is ironic that a major employer seeks the privacy of arbitration, but only after first lodging accusations which she can only defend in private. See Vanity Fair report about the allegations against her and the move to arbitration.

Gretchen Carlson has settled her sex harassment case for $20 million and a public apology. See CNN news report. Fox News paid a portion and according to one report, so did Roger Ailes. It is one of the largest settlements ever for one person in a discrimination lawsuit. It also included a public apology. Fox News also settled with other women who lodged complaints for much smaller amounts.

Ms. Carlson’s case was settled before any motion for summary judgment or to dismiss. Ms. Carlson was said to have recordings of her encounters with Mr. Ailes. That would help explain the speed and size of this settlement.The settlement is also remarkable because Fox News settled the case. Fox News was not sued. To avoid the terms of a non-compete agreement, Ms. Carlson actually sued Roger Ailes.

Every Plaintiff’s lawyer in the country will draw a breath, not because this is such a large amount, but because now every client will ask why they cannot ask for $20 million. What makes her case worth so much is any alleged tape recordings and her high income. Doubtless, she was paid in the mid to high six figures. So, her lost income will be quite high. And, with this sort of notoriety, she will probably have trouble working as a news anchor for the foreseeable future.

So, now, Fox News itself has been sued for sexual harassment. Former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros has sued her former employer, saying Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly harassed her. She describes Fox News as a sex-fueled, Playboy mansion like place to work. In her suit, Ms. Tantaros claims she was in Mr. Ailes’ office. He asked her to turn around so he could get a good look at her. She refused. She was then promptly removed from the 5:00 p.m. news slot.

She says she spoke about her concerns with Bill Shine, the co-president of Fox News. He told her to let it go. See CNN News report.

Gretchen Carlson and some 20 other women named Roger Ailes as a serial harasser. Now, Andrea Tantaros. That is a lot of witnesses to the same alleged conduct.

Roger Ailes has been forced out as CEO of Fox News. He submitted his resignation after Rupert Murdoch offered him millions of dollars to retire. I wrote about the sex harassment allegations against him here.

He will continue for some period of time as advisor to Mr. Murdocch. When Megan Kelly added herself to the growing list of women claiming they had been sexually harassed by Mr. Ailes, that was apparently the final nail in the coffin. See CBS News report.

Gretchen Carlson has filed suit against Fox News and Roger Ailes for sex discrimination. Ms. Carlson was Miss America in 1989 and is attractive. In her lawsuit, she accuses Mr. Ailes of ogling her, repeatedly commenting about her legs, and once told her she was sexy but “too much hard work.” Nine months ago, he told her she should have had a sexual relationship with him long ago. Things would have been better for her, he assured, if she had. Mr. Ailes is 76 years old. Ms. Carlson is 50.

As the suit points out, Ms. Carlson anchored her own show until a few weeks ago. She was demoted three years ago from a position as host of the morning show when she complained about sexual harassment. She had apparently complained about one of her co-workers, Steve Doocy, who, she said, condescended toward her and treated her in a sexist way. She should, said Mr. Ailes at the time, learn to get along with “the boys.” Mr. Ailes also accused her at the time of being a “man hater.” See CBS news report. I bet Fox’ lawyer really cringes over that last statement.

An employer should not say things like that. The chief executive officer should not bring sex or gender into a discussion when someone complains about sex harassment. That should be a basic principle for avoiding lawsuits. Sex harassment is subjective. It is hard to show. Mr. Ailes gained nothing by making comments suggesting she was not “one of the boys.” If Fox did not then conduct some sort of investigation about her complaints, it will start out in this lawsuit with a deficit. Sex harassment is hard to prove. Retaliation is much easier. At least so far, Ms. Carlson’s case looks pretty good.

 

Incredibly, it appears the settlements concerning Bill O’Reilly and his sexual harassment required his victims to lie about the evidence. According to a CNN report, a settlement agreement with Andrea Mackris, a former Fox News producer, required her to lie even under oath by referring to the allegations as “counterfeit” or as “forgeries.” According to this same CNN report, the lawyer who claimed to represent Ms. Mackris switched sides in the midst of the negotiations for the settlement agreement and then represented Bill O’Reilly.

As Ms. Mackris’ current lawyer mentions, if true, that is a profoundly unethical step for any lawyer in any state. There is no situation in which it would be proper for a lawyer to switch sides during a lawsuit or during a negotiation. The ethical rules emphasize the appearance of impropriety. Even if the lawyer, Benedict Morelli, could offer some explanation for switching sides, changing sides would simply look improper.

These are serious legal allegations, the kind any lawyer would lose his license for. I am sure all these legal problems helped persuade the judge to allow three of Mr. O”Reilly’s settlement agreements to become public. Mr. O’Reilly asked the judge to seal the settlement agreements. But, the federal judge denied his motion. See CNN news report.