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Fox News Producer Calls Networkâs âZero Tolerance Policyâ for Sexual Misconduct a âFraud,â Claiming Judge Napolitano Harassed Him and âNumerous Young Male Employeesâ
Link
https://lawandcrime.com/lawsuit/fox-news-producer-calls-networks-zero-tolerance-policy-for-sexual-misconduct-a-fraud-claiming-judge-napolitano-harassed-him-and-numerous-young-male-employees/
Archive
https://web.archive.org/web/20210802214503/https://lawandcrime.com/lawsuit/fox-news-producer-calls-networks-zero-tolerance-policy-for-sexual-misconduct-a-fraud-claiming-judge-napolitano-harassed-him-and-numerous-young-male-employees/
A Fox News associate producer claimed in a lawsuit on Monday that Judge Andrew Napolitano sexually harassed him and ânumerous young male employees,â allegations that he claims exposes the so-called âzero tolerance policyâ announced by CEO Suzanne Scott as a âfraud.â
âThe Worst-Kept Secret at Fox Newsâ
The producer also claims that, in the âworst-kept secret at Fox News,â the network falsely denied that its president Jay Wallace had an affair with a female subordinate, even though ânumerous female employeesâ overheard âromantic phone conversationsâ she had with him inside a bathroom stall of the womenâs restroom.
âAs explained in this complaint, sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and racial discrimination are still tolerated at Fox, and Ms. Scott and her executive team will bend over backwards to protect such behavior so long as it is perpetrated by senior management or prominent on-air personalities,â Fox producer John Fawcettâs lawsuit claims in its introduction.
In the wake of #MeToo scandals that brought down Roger Ailes, Bill Shine, and Bill OâReilly, Fox News hired Scott to clean up shop in 2018. Since that time, similar lawsuits have continued to hit the courts, including one accusing ex-anchor Ed Henry of rape and the network of sex trafficking. That civil case remains pending, but earlier this month, Fox settled claims by ex-Fox Nation host Britt McHenry. She had claimed that her former co-host George Murdoch (also known as the wrestler âTyrusâ) sent her inappropriate text messages, creating a hostile work environment allegedly tolerated by the network.
Filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, Fawcettâs complaint accuses Fox of the same old practices of protecting their stars like Napolitano and Larry Kudlow, the latter of whom Fawcett claims to have overheard using âethnic slursâ and âsexually inappropriate comments about women.â
Fox News vigorously denied those allegations in an unsigned statement, which notably said that the network has parted ways with its senior judicial analyst.
âUpon first learning of John Fawcettâs allegations against Judge Andrew Napolitano, FOX News Media immediately investigated the claims and addressed the matter with both parties,â the statement read. âThe network and Judge Napolitano have since parted ways. We take all allegations of misconduct seriously, are committed to providing a safe, transparent, and collaborative workplace environment for all our employees and took immediate, appropriate action. Furthermore, the additional allegations laid out in this claim are completely baseless and nothing more than a desperate attempt at a payday by trying the case in the court of public opinion as the complaint does not meet the standards of the law. We will defend the matter vigorously in court.â
Fox News Network is the sole defendant in the lawsuit, accused of violating New York City and state human rights law barring gender discrimination.
âThey Look Clean, But They Get Really Dirtyâ
Two other men previously accused Napolitano of inappropriate sexual behavior before, including a New Jersey waiter who claimed the judge âforcedâ him to engage in a âbizarre sex act.â Napolitanoâs then-attorney Tom Clare depicted that lawsuit as a âcopycatâ to allegations filed by Charles Corbishley, who had claimed the judge coerced him into performing oral sex in exchange for a more lenient sentence. Clare called Corbishley a âcareer criminal.â
Both of those lawsuits were filed in September 2020, and Napolitano cast them both as smear campaigns.
In his complaint, Fawcett alleges that Napolitanoâs reputation for sexual harassing young men was well-established by 2019, the year Fawcett says he began working for Fox Business Network.
That autumn, Fawcett claims he encountered Judge Napolitano on an elevator at Fox News headquarters in Manhattan.
âEven though the two had never met previously, Judge Napolitano stood awkwardly close to the plaintiff, started stroking his arm, and asked who the plaintiff worked for,â the lawsuit states.
After Fawcett replied that he worked for former Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, Judge Napolitano asked whether he was looking for a new job, and conversation turned to Dobbsâs horse farm and Napolitanoâs maple syrup farm, according to the complaint.
âYou see these hands?â Judge Napolitano allegedly told Fawcett suggestively. âThey look clean, but they get really dirty.â
According to the complaint, Napolitano invited Fawcett to his New Jersey farm or Manhattan apartment, and Fawcett âpolitely excused himselfâ after the elevator reached his floor.
âWhen the plaintiff reached his office and told his co-workers about the encounter, they immediately started laughing,â the lawsuit states. âIt was common knowledge that Judge Napolitano sexually harassed young men at Fox News, and it had even happened to one of the plaintiffâs co-workers. The plaintiff did not initially report the incident to human resources, however, because he did not want to jeopardize his career at Fox, but he did tell Mr. Dobbs.â
Fawcett claims Dobbs reported allegations to Foxâs chief human resources officer Kevin Lord, who allegedly responded: âWell, what are you going to do about it?â
After the previous lawsuits against Napolitano came out, Fox allegedly footed the judgeâs legal bills, even though neither lawsuit involved the network.
âAs usual, Ms. Scott has been protecting her boys,â the complaint states.
âProtecting Profits and Preventing Embarrassmentâ
Fawcettâs lawsuit appears to aim far wider than the allegations of âunwanted gender-based conductâ against him, filled with gossip and news reporting relating to other staffers cited in service of his thesis that Fox has not reformed.
Chief among these apparent digressions are his claims against Wallace, whom the network denied had an affair with a subordinate.
âFOX conducted a full and independent investigation of the claims against Jay Wallace â he was cleared of any wrongdoing and the allegations are false,â the network said at the time.
Calling the denial âflagrantly dishonest,â Fawcett claims Wallaceâs purported mistress was transferred from his office to a journalism role at the networkâs website, edging out a âmore senior female investigative reporterâ for the position. Wallace served as the executive vice president for news and editorial at the time of Foxâs investigation, and Fawcett claims that Foxâs CEO Scott promoted him to president following that investigation.
âBy covering up for Mr. Wallace and Judge Napolitano, Fox News has shown that its âzero tolerance policyâ is a joke,â the complaint states. âEven now, Fox News covers up sexual misconduct in the interests of protecting profits and preventing embarrassment.â
Fawcett also claims that Larry Kudlow, whose show he still works for, made âinappropriate comments about women and minorities during phone conferences with staff.â The complaint quotes Kudlow as musing to staff that he would like to have a âthree-wayâ with a Fox anchor, while a senior vice president was on the line.
The lawsuit also accuses former Trump economic advisor Kudlow of making bigoted comments about Rep. Maria Eliva Salazar and Rep. Byron Donalds, both Republicans from Florida. Fawcett claims Kudlow responded to a scheduled appearance by Salazar, the daughter of Cuban exiles, by saying: âWhy donât we just let the Mexicans in?â and referred to the African-American Donalds simply as âthe black.â
âNo, no, no, I donât want the black on the show,â Kudlow said on April 29, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit claims that Donaldsâs appearance was cancelled on that day.
Read the lawsuit below:
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21031573/napolitano-fox-complaint.pdf
A Fox News associate producer claimed in a lawsuit on Monday that Judge Andrew Napolitano sexually harassed him and ânumerous young male employees,â allegations that he claims exposes the so-called âzero tolerance policyâ announced by CEO Suzanne Scott as a âfraud.â
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>spitting in our faces.
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>I'm German.
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>Here are many people comparing the Corona regime to that of the Nazis.
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>But it is forbidden to do this, cuz it is outrageous, you know?
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>They even want to make it a crime(!) to make this comparison!
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>Why?
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>Well, Amazing Polly just explained, why!
>this one is hopefully next on the list ; Mr Plaquenil Kills ; obviously some kind of pervert unbeknownst to the masses for the moment
~~Andrew Napolitano~~
~~Kathy Griffith~~
The Trump Curse continues, can we make it a Triple and watch Geraldo have a heart attack live on air?