Fox News received a complaint last week of sexual harassment against one of their most popular news anchors, Ed Henry. The complaint was from years ago, from a former employee, alleging willful sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Fox News has had a history of sexual harassment in the workplace. It has been working to transform and improve the workplace culture after several high-profile allegations of sexual assault forced the network to re-examine their internal practices. Prior accusations against CEO Roger Ailes and anchor Bill O’Reilly exposed cultural issues at the network.
Popular anchor Ed Henry seems to be next. He was poached by Fox News after 7 years at CNN, serving as the chief White House Correspondent for the Obama Administration, and covering much of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He hasn’t always had the best reputation in the spotlight, coming under fire in the spring of 2016 for having an “extramarital affair.” Roger Ailes, who was CEO at the time, publicly denounced him, saying “this raises serious questions about Ed’s lack of judgement, especially given his position as a journalist.”
Henry worked hard to rebuild his reputation at Fox News, filling in on shows like “Fox & Friends Weekend” and “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” He was promoted to co-anchor with Sandra Smith on “America’s Newsroom.”
However, on Thursday, June 25th, Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace sent out an internal email to employees announcing the complaint they had received against Henry. They said that Henry “was suspended the same day and removed from his on-air responsibilities.” A third-party law firm would investigate the matter. Ed Henry was later terminated based on investigative findings.
Sexual harassment, in any way, shape, or form, is against the law. Workplace sexual harassment affects both men and women and creates an undesirable and offensive work environment.
If you are experiencing sexual harassment at work, may it be verbal, physical, or visual, contact our sexual harassment lawyers at Mesriani Law Group and we will evaluate your claims.
