The Drudge Report is exclusively reporting this afternoon that Fox News Chairman & CEO Roger Ailes is leaving Fox:
Wow.
And to supplant the reporting, Drudge tweeted out a link to a document seemingly confirming the news (which has now since been deleted):
UPDATE –– 4:25 pm EDT: The news has been independently confirmed by The Daily Beast:
BREAKING: Fox News confirms to @TheLloydGrove that Roger Ailes has been fired https://t.co/b5OSAeU4SL
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) July 19, 2016
UPDATE – 4:43 pm EDT: Variety is independently confirming the news too.
And Drudge has posted this on his site now (UPDATE: this is a statement from a member of Ailes’ legal team):
‘Roger Ailes has never sexually harassed Megyn Kelly. In fact, he has spent much of the last decade promoting and helping her to achieve the stardom she earned, for which she has repeatedly and publicly thanked him’…
UPDATE –– 5:11 pm EDT: So not only has Drudge walked it back, but 21st Century Fox has issued a statement saying “Roger is at work.”
UPDATE –– 5:41 pm EDT: NY Mag reporter Gabriel Sherman is reporting on more details of what’s happening at Fox internally:
Sources on both sides of Ailes and 21CF negotiations say situation is v fluid. One person speculates he could try to fire Megyn tonight!
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) July 19, 2016
Hearing Ailes is huddled with advisers in "full on crazy mode." He's furious that Megyn Kelly is now being credited with his ouster
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) July 19, 2016
[image via screengrab]
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