Fox News Reportedly Agrees to 8-Figure Settlement With Ex-Host Melissa Francis, Who Accused Network of a Gender Pay Gap

Fox News has reportedly come to terms on a monster settlement payout with Melissa Francis – a former host for the network who alleged there was a gender pay disparity during her tenure.

According to the Washington Post, the network has agreed to fork over approximately $15 million to Francis, who left in 2020 after spending nine years as a host for Fox News and Fox Business.

Francis previously filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor alleging retaliation by Fox News after she highlighted a gender pay gap at the network.

In a statement, a network spokesperson told Mediaite, “Fox News has always been committed to the equitable treatment of all employees which we have demonstrated consistently over our 26-year history, and we are extremely proud of our business. We parted ways with Melissa Francis over a year and a half ago and her allegations were entirely without merit. We have also fully cooperated with the New York State Department of Labor’s investigation and look forward to the completion of this matter.”

During a contract negotiation in 2019, Francis alleges that Dianne Brandi — a former executive vice president for legal and business affairs at the network — acknowledged a pay disparity between men and women at Fox News. Francis claims that Brandi — one of an increasing number of female executives at the network in the post-Roger Ailes era, led by CEO Suzanne Scott — flat-out told the host she had no recourse, and was going to have to accept a smaller salary than a man would be given in a similar negotiation.

“That’s how the world works,” Brandi said, according to Francis. “Women make less. It’s just a fact.”

In a statement to Mediaite, the network vehemently denied Brandi ever said that.

“Melissa Francis’s version of that conversation is untrue and patently absurd – furthermore, it is illogical that anyone with Dianne Brandi’s level of experience in negotiating talent contracts for a living would make such a ludicrous statement,” the Fox News spokesperson said.

Behind the scenes, Fox has touted its gender equity practices in recent years. But the New York State Labor Department is still adjudicating Francis’s claim. And the ex-host’s attorney, Kevin Mintzer, told the Washington Post that Francis lodged her claim for “the women of the company who remain behind.”