Fox Reportedly Seeks Settlement With Carlson as New Reports Reveal Apparent ‘Fear’ About Ailes
Fox News is reportedly seeking a settlement with Gretchen Carlson over her sexual harassment lawsuit as new reports come in about Roger Ailes and apparent “fear” at the network about their boss.
First, as we reported earlier today, Andrea Tantaros––who hasn’t been on Fox since April––claims that she was yanked from the air after reporting to other Fox executives about Ailes sexually harassing her. Tantaros has not been officially terminated, and according to Business Insider, that may be coming soon.
Tantaros’ lawyer said that she’s speaking out because “she doesn’t have the same fear of being attacked by the Fox PR machine,” and it appears that fear of Ailes is pervasive at the network.
A new report from CNN tonight says that the reason Fox Newsers have been so tight-lipped for years about what’s going on at the network is because, as one anonymous network personality put it, “we all believe our phones are tapped and that we are monitored.”
Per CNN:
“People definitely felt that the clicks on the line were coming from the inside,” said another…
Still, none of these sources said they had any concrete evidence that their phone conversations or email correspondence had been monitored. Rather, they spoke of a fear that they described as pervasive throughout the company.
And as the avalanche of Ailes reporting continues––including the revelation of a supposed “black room” Ailes used to wage campaigns against and surveil his enemies––a Vanity Fair report tonight says that Fox wants to settle with Carlson:
The company is requesting that Ailes, who has denied all Carlson’s allegations, fund at least a portion of the settlement, which is expected to reach eight figures, these people said. At issue in the settlement talks is the existence of audio tapes recorded by multiple women in conversation with Ailes, two people familiar with the tapes said.
And in keeping with this growing theme of fear at the network, former News Corp PR exec told Vanity Fair, “Roger ruled with a heavy dose of implied threats—to journalists, staff, and even colleagues who didn’t work for him––and psychological games… Roger deserves to end his career in disgrace.”
And their report also says that “others said they remain fearful that even discussing Ailes at all could result in some form of punishment.”
[image via screengrab]
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