Fox’s Shep Smith Breaks Network’s On-Air Silence, Reports on Gretchen Carlson’s Suit

Fox’s Shepard Smith broke his home network’s on-air silence on an internal feud and reported on the lawsuit filed by former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson alleging that the channel’s chairman and CEO Roger Ailes engaged in a pattern of sexual harassment for years.

Smith read aloud Ailes’ statement in which he denied the allegations and accused Carlson of pursuing a “retaliatory suit” that was “wholly without merit,” as a response to the network’s decision not to renew her contract.

Carlson’s contract was terminated on June 23. The lawsuit against Ailes was filed in New Jersey Superior Court on Wednesday.

Though not named as a defendant, the complaint alleges that Carlson’s former co-host on Fox & Friends Steve Doocy also belittled and harassed her for years.

Smith mentioned that 21st Century Fox, the network’s parent company, was launching its own internal review and noted that the company said it had “full confidence” in both Ailes and Doocy.

While CNN has been reporting on it fairly frequently, Carlson’s lawsuit has gotten scant coverage on both Fox and MSNBC. Fox’s media analyst Howard Kurtz filed a report on the suit on FoxNews.com, but not on the air. Fox Senior Political Analyst Brit Hume suggested on Twitter that it was worth asking why Carlson only sued after her contract was terminated instead of quitting outright and then suing. MSNBC’s First Look touched on it Thursday morning.

This article has been updated.

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