WATCH: In Old Clip, Julie Roginsky Says Coming Forward Against Sexual Harassment Can Inspire Others
Today, we’ve covered the reception that Julie Roginsky‘s Fox News lawsuit is receiving on certain parts of the Internet.
She’s alleging harassment and discrimination, but without any self-awareness, online commentators are criticizing her for not doing it when they think she should have, then questioning why she didn’t do it sooner.
As it turns out, Roginsky herself addressed what it is, exactly, that makes women come forward with allegations of sexual harassment or assault after another one has gone first. Interestingly, in the clip you see above, she’s talking to none other than Megyn Kelly about the phenomenon. As you’ll recall, it was Kelly who put the nail in the coffin of Roger Ailes‘s career when she leveled her own accusation of sexual harassment at him after former colleague Gretchen Carlson went first. In Roginsky’s complaint, she alleged that she was retaliated against for not publicly disparaging Carlson when the Real Story anchor sued Ailes. Numerous Fox News employees went on the record to slam Carlson and support Ailes, so Roginsky was familiar with the “Team Roger” mentality she’d be facing if and when she filed.
Still, there is strength in numbers, even against someone who may be a serial harasser. That is the point Roginsky made in the clip above, which was shot during a segment on Donald Trump‘s claims he would sue all of the women who came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and unwanted touching.
Here’s how she responded to a question about whether Hillary Clinton might be directing women to accuse Trump of harassment or assault: [Emphasis ours.]
I think this is very much like Bill Cosby where you have a torrent of women coming out and one begets the next and begets the next and it maybe gives women courage to come out. I have no idea; I doubt that this would need to be coordinated because you have all of these women … this is very reminiscent to me of Cosby — who also, again, we have to presume is innocent until he’s proven guilty — but we’ve seen it time and again, where you have one woman who is brave enough to stand up and say something and that begets more and more women coming forward.
There’s your answer to “Why did she wait so long if this started happening five years ago?”
[image via screengrab]
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