Ed Henry was dismissed after Fox Community obtained a grievance from the lawyer of an ex-staffer
Former Fox Information worker Jennifer Eckhart filed a lawsuit on Monday in a New York federal courtroom towards Fox Information and former community anchor Ed Henry, accusing him of raping her.
The grievance says Henry “groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced [her] into having a sexual relationship with him, and that, when she wouldn’t comply voluntarily, he sexually assaulted her on workplace property, and raped her at a lodge.”
In an announcement on Henry’s behalf, his lawyer Catherine Foti mentioned proof would present that Eckhart “initiated and utterly inspired a consensual relationship.”
In a separate assertion, a Fox Information spokeswoman mentioned Eckhart and co-plaintiff Cathy Areu, a community visitor, can pursue their claims towards Henry instantly with him, because the community “already took swift motion as quickly because it discovered of Ms. Eckhart’s claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is not employed by the community.”
The cable information community, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp, mentioned on July 1 it had dismissed Henry after receiving a grievance from the lawyer of a former worker and retained a legislation agency to research.
Monday’s grievance alleges the community knew Henry had engaged in sexual misconduct way back to early 2017.
The Fox Information spokeswoman mentioned in a later assertion on Monday: “There weren’t sexual harassment claims towards Ed Henry at Fox Information previous to Jennifer Eckhart’s declare on June 25, 2020.”
Areu alleges Henry despatched her “a slew of wildly inappropriate sexual photos and movies” and advised he would help her profession if she had intercourse with him.
Areu additionally alleges that Fox Information anchors Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, host Howard Kurtz and political analyst Gianno Caldwell sexually harassed and retaliated towards Areu.
Requested to touch upon the allegations within the lawsuit, Foti mentioned: “Ed Henry appears to be like ahead to presenting precise information and proof, which is able to contradict the fictional accounts contained within the grievance.”
In its assertion the community mentioned that primarily based on an outdoor legislation agency’s investigation that included interviews with quite a few witnesses, it was decided that Areu’s claims towards the community, its administration, Carlson, Hannity, Kurtz and Caldwell are “false, patently frivolous and completely devoid of any advantage.”
Reuters was not instantly in a position to attain Carlson, Hannity, Kurtz or Caldwell however Fox Information mentioned its assertion was a response on behalf of all 4 males. Eckhart was an affiliate producer at Fox Enterprise Community.
In 2016, Roger Ailes resigned as chairman and chief government of Fox Information after former Fox Information anchor Gretchen Carlson sued him for sexual harassment, costs he denied.
The community agreed to pay $20 million to settle Carlson’s lawsuit.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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