When it rains, it pours.
A spokesman for the law firm representing former Fox News employee Gretchen Carlson claims that in the hours following the announcement of her lawsuit against Roger Ailes, “at least ten” other women got in touch with them about Ailes’ behavior, according to CNN.
Carlson, the now-former host of “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson,” filed suit after Fox News opted not to renew her contract in late June, claiming she was terminated for “refusing Ailes’ sexual advances.” Fox News host Steve Doocy, who worked with Carlson on “Fox & Friends,” was also named in the lawsuit for alleged sexual harassment.
Ailes adamantly denies the allegation, which he said was “retaliatory” after Carlson realized that her career with the network was likely over. The former Fox News employee may face other potential roadblocks in her sex claim.
“Gretchen Carlson’s allegations are false, Ailes said in a statement. “This is a retaliatory suit for the network’s decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup.”
Six of the ten women who contacted the law firm spoke with New York Magazine‘s Gabriel Sherman — two went on the record.
The women made additional allegations, including a charge by former model Marsha Callahan, who claimed Ailes once told her “to make sure I wore a garter belt and stockings” when meeting with him.
Callahan explained what happened when she showed up:
So I go into his office and right away he says, ‘Sit on the sofa and lift your skirt up.’ I had to do these different poses. And then, I recall very clearly, he said he’d put me on the show but I needed to go to bed with him. I was a really shy girl, but I was a little cheeky so I said, ‘Oh yeah, you and who else?’ And he said, ‘Only me and a few of my select friends.’ I said, ‘Well, if you think I have star quality and you can make money off my looks, I don’t think it’d matter if I went to bed with you or not.’ And he said, ‘Oh, pretty girls like you are a dime a dozen.’
The other woman, former RNC field adviser Kellie Boyle, claimed Ailes told her: “You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys.”
Carlson’s attorney Nancy Erika Smith, of the firm Smith Mullin, claims Ailes’ inappropriate behavior was “very consistent and very pervasive,” CNN reported.
Smith pointed to other accusations of sexual harassment by Ailes in the book, “The Loudest Voice in the Room.”
“The law is very clear that other victims’ testimony is relevant in a sexual harassment case… We may be asking these other women to testify,” she said.
Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox announced Wednesday in a statement that they have launched an internal review of Ailes’ and Doocy’s behavior, according to CNN.
“The Company has seen the allegations against Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy. We take these matters seriously. While we have full confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy, who have served the company brilliantly for over two decades, we have commenced an internal review of the matter.”
CNN, a competitor, noted that Ailes “is known for having a bawdy, politically incorrect sense of humor,” and reported that he runs the network “with an iron fist.”
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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