A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges ex-Fox News host Ed Henry raped a woman he had groomed and coerced into having a sexual relationship when she did This is not one of those cases. The company has said it has made broad cultural changes since Ailes' ouster in 2016, but Wigdor and some former Fox News staffers say it has been slow to root out deeply embedded patterns of sexist behavior and actions. The morning after Ms. Areu rejected Mr. Kurtzs advances, it continued, he refused to meet with her at the studio and curtly said to her, Im booked solid this morning which is why I hoped to connect last night. Mr. Kurtz was punishing Ms. Areu for refusing to join him at his hotel. The Me Too movement has helped to bring to light a number of injustices in our society, and everyone that has suffered deserves to be heard, Foti said. On ExpressNews.com: Thomas J. Henry, law firm among defendants in lawsuit filed by alleged sexual assault victim She accused Henry, Thomas J. Henry Law Henryfiled a separate lawsuit the same day against several websites and Twitter handles who shared similar allegations against the former correspondent. The allegation follows Henry's firing on July 1, which the networks chief executive, Suzanne Scott, and its president, Jay Wallace, emailed employees to say was based on investigative findings after a complaint from a former employees attorney; the suit alleges the network was aware of sexual misconduct by Henry in early 2017, but in a statement to Forbes, Fox News denies there were any claims prior to Eckharts on June 25, 2020. I am hopeful that my decision to file this action will result in positive change for women at Fox, and for all victims in the workplace, and I am honored that other women have come forward since my decision to do so.. Fox News issued a statement on behalf of Hannity, Carlson and Kurtz, calling the claims in the suit "false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit.". The video depicted Ms. Coulter being swarmed by media. As of Tuesday, nearly 92 percent of Henry Ford employees have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. AP My decision to speak out was not an easy one, but I refuse to let fear of retaliation, victim shaming and further attacks intimidate me into remaining silent. She has reworked human-resources policies and instilled several new senior executives at Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. Ms. Areu has only appeared approximately three times on 'Media Buzz' following her rejection of Mr. Kurtzs advances," the lawsuit says. Fox News rejected some of the lawsuit in a statement to USA TODAY as "patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit," while pointing to Henry's firing as the "appropriate" response. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York by the Wigdor LLC law firm, which has represented several Fox News staffers in the past in complaints that alleged sexual or racial discrimination at the company. Fox has since moved to distance itself from the alleged culture under Ailes. The complaint includes a number of graphic text messages that Henry allegedly sent Eckhart following the 2017 incident. The lawsuit further alleged that Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell repeatedly pressed Areu to date him, using the possibility of an introduction to his friend Ann Coulter as a lure. There were not sexual harassment claims against Ed Henry at FOX News prior to Jennifer Eckharts claim on June 25, 2020, the spokesperson said. Some of the names in leadership may have changed since Roger Ailes regime, but Fox News institutional apathy towards sexual misconduct has not., According to the complaint, Eckhart alleged that Henry, who is married, groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced her into a sexual relationship in which he referred to her as his sex slave. Additionally, the lawsuit claimed, when she would not comply voluntarily, [Henry] sexually assaulted her on office property, and raped her at a hotel where Fox News frequently lodged its visiting employees., The relationship began in 2014, according to the lawsuit, after Henry, who is two decades older than Eckhart, messaged her on Twitter telling her that he thought she was beautiful. From there, the lawsuit claimed, Ms. Fox announced on July 1 that it fired Henry after conducting an internal investigation into Henrys willful sexual misconduct. But Mondays complaint alleged that the network and higher-ups including Fox News president Jay Wallace and Fox Business Network President Lauren Petterson, were already aware of several years-old complaints against the former on-air host, and he continued to receive promotions anyhow. The explosive allegations are contained in court papers filed Wednesday by Henrys attorney Brian M. Block of Mandelbaum Salzberg in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, where Scott lives. Henry rejected the allegations, filing for dismissal of the suit by calling it "malicious and defamatory," and Fox denied anywrongdoing, saying it took "swift action" in lettingHenry go shortly after learning of the matter. On May 31, 2020, Mr. Caldwell texted Ms. Areu a video of him together with Ann Coulter, a far- right media pundit who regularly appears on Fox News, the lawsuit stated. We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations. She compared the movie with her manuscript; the lawsuit claims there are at least 108 similarities. In the suit, Eckhart alleges Henry, who had been an anchor on Americas Newsroom, the networks mid-morning news program, groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced Ms. Eckhart into having a sexual relationship with him, and that, when she would not comply voluntarily, he sexually assaulted her on office property, and raped her at a hotel where Fox News frequently lodged its visiting employees. The suit says Eckhart was the one who contacted Fox News on June 25, and notified the company she had retained legal counsel regarding her claims against Henry. According to the lawsuit, the messages in Areus possession from Henry include a closeup photograph of a womans vagina being clamped closed by four clothespins; a photograph of an individual wearing a mask that has a large penis in lieu of a nose; a photograph of a vibrator faux smoking a cigarette; a photograph with a woman with her mouth open and tongue extended, with a mans hands pulling her towards his midsection, captioned In case you wondering the male g-spot is located at the back of a womans throat; a photograph of a womans rear end and vagina modified to include the features of a bunny rabbit (this was sent for Easter); a woman wearing nothing but three masks, in which her entire body is exposed other than her breasts and vagina; [and] a photograph of a rubber glove where each finger appears to be a dildo and/or ribbed like a condom., Henry also sent Areu, the complaint alleged, a video of a woman running across the room and jumping towards a cameraher skirt lifts up and the video ends with a closeup of her vagina; and a video entitled Fastest Interview candidate selected in 3 seconds. In the video, someone purportedly interviewing for a position exposes her vagina, after which the interviewer indicates that she got the job., The complaint continued: Immediately after Mr. Henry sent Ms. Areu this video, he texted her, Are you avail for anchor interview. Mr. Henry knew that Ms. Areu was looking for full time work at Fox News, and was telling her, in no uncertain terms, that he would assist her career if she had sex with him.. When u r owned, you dont get a choice, he wrote on another occasion. Regarding Henry was released in 1991, but the couple didn't see it until renting the videotape in March 1992. Fox News grappled with a series of embarrassing and often sordid lawsuits in the wake of the 2016 ouster of Ailes, its former chief executive who was alleged to have harassed several female staffers and other associates over the course of his career in TV. He made the comments as Areu was stuck and hooked into studio equipment, according to the lawsuit. Eckharts lawyers also provided in the complaint a series of text messages in which Henry referred to their relationship in graphic terms. Uponinformation and belief, he was not even disciplined," the lawsuit says. Regarding Henry is the story of a New York lawyer, played by Harrison Ford, who suffers brain damage and amnesia after being shot in the head during a robbery. The lawsuit asserts Fox executives knew that Henry had been accused of sexual misconduct long before June 25. Indeed, right after he sent the video, he wrote, I had no idea you were here [in Florida]. Of course, Fox News will have paid the investigator, who also happens to be a management-side employment lawyer. Nothing could be further from the truth.. THE HILL 1625 K STREET, NW SUITE 900 WASHINGTON DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 TEL | 202-628-8503 FAX. Because that condition is unreasonable, as evidence cannot be suppressed or hidden in this manner in litigation, our investigators were not given access to speak to either plaintiff. Evansville Couple Claims Regarding Henry is Their Story October 8, 1993 EVANSVILLE, Ind. According to the lawsuit, Henry laughed as he took the photographs, and Eckhart pleaded with Mr. Henry to stop, and to remove the handcuffs, and to delete the naked pictures he took of her without her consent. The photographs, the lawsuit suggested, were an intimidation tactic to keep Eckhart silent. It also says he took naked photos of Eckhart without her consent before the alleged assault. More:Bill Cosby released from prison after sex assault conviction overturned by Pa. Supreme Court, More:James Franco agrees to pay $2.2M to settle sexual misconduct lawsuit filed by former students. Ed Henry was terminated after Fox News received a complaint on June 25 from a former employee's attorney. The lawsuit also alleges that nearly 13,000 vaccinated people in the U.S. have died and over 30,000 people have had life-threatening reactions to the vaccine. 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Based on investigative findings, Ed has been terminated, the executives said. "Fox News continues to protect and rewardperpetrators of sexual harassment and refuses to take accountability for putting such persons inpositions of power from which they can subject women to sexual misconduct, sexual assault and, in the case of Ms. Eckhart, rape. In a statement, Henrys lawyer Catherine M. Foti said: The Me Too movement has helped to bring to light a number of injustices in our society, and everyone that has suffered deserves to be heard. Being targeted again by Douglas Wigdors law firm, well known for its pursuit of sexual misconduct cases, is an uncomfortable rerun for Fox. "Mr. Hannity, on set and in front of the entire studio crew and completely unsolicited threw $100 on the set desk. The results of any such investigation should be made public for the world to see., And Fox News said, in response: The investigators immediately requested in writing the opportunity to speak directly with each plaintiff with their attorneys present, and for the plaintiffs to provide them with any evidence (i.e., texts or emails) supporting their claims. ", NPR responded to the claim Friday. Areu, who was also a regular guest on Kurtz's MediaBuzz, alleges that the host tried to get her to come alone to his hotel room on the premise of discussing a full-time job at the network. "But we have lived this fight long enough to know that the new variants are real and worrisome," Riney added. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Areu said she was also propositioned by Gianno Caldwell, a Fox contributor. This is not one of those cases, Foti said in a statement. Following the news, Carlson went on a planned vacation., This is a BETA experience. 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