Gretchen Carlson Calls on Fox News to Release Her from NDA: I’ve Been ‘Forced Into Silence’ About Sexual Harassment
Journalist Gretchen Carlson publicly called on Fox News to release her from the non-disclosure agreement she signed three years ago as part of a settlement of her sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss, Fox News CEO Roger Ailes: “I want my voice back.”
In a New York Times op-ed published on Thursday, Carlson railed against NDAs as a tool that perpetuate “predatory behavior” by muzzling the victims. Two days earlier, the former Fox News star had launched a new advocacy group whose mission will be to ban NDAs from the workplace to help survivors of sexual harassment speak out. Carlson’s blockbuster claims about Ailes’ sexual misconduct back in 2016 are now seen as an early spark in the #MeToo movement that has resulted in sexual abuse and misconduct claims against numerous other high-profile men in the media, from Harvey Weinstein to Matt Lauer to Charlie Rose.
“‘Winning’ my complaint with a settlement and a non-disclosure agreement meant I was, essentially, forced into silence,” Carlson wrote about her settlement, which reportedly included a $20 million payment. “NDAs were originally designed to safeguard the sharing of proprietary corporate information (think the formula for Coca-Cola), not to protect predatory behavior.”
Carlson noted that a Showtime TV series and now a high-profile Hollywood movie, Bombshell, have depicted her and other female journalists’ alleged harassment at the network, but that because of her NDA she cannot participate in or consult with anyone involved in those projects.
“There is positive movement,” Carlson added, noting that NBC recently announced that it would release any former employees who felt they were targeted for sexual harassment while workmen for the network from abiding by their signed NDAs, so they can freely discuss their experiences. She called on Fox News to do the same.
“I want my voice back. I want it back for me, and for all those silenced by forced arbitration and NDAs,” Carlson wrote. “None of us expected or wanted a workplace dispute — we were simply the ones who had the ability and the courage to speak up, and for that, we lost our jobs. We have a right to say what is factually correct or incorrect about what happened. We have a right to our voices and our truths. I urge executives at Fox to do what’s right and take this step today. For the sake of all women, in every workplace. That would be the biggest bombshell of all.”
