Keith Girard
Former Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros claims sexual harassment is condoned and tolerated by the network’s very top executives including Rupert Murdoch. (Photo: Getty)
During her tenure there, Tantaros, 37, claims in court papers she was subjected to unwelcome sexual advances by talk show host Bill O’Reilly, and ex-Fox News Chief Executive Roger Ailes.
She claims Rupert Murdoch, owner of parent company Newscorp and Lachlan Murdoch “are plainly not disturbed by Ailes’s conduct and the retaliatory conduct [against her] by Fox News senior executives,” court papers state.
Ailes’ senior executives engaged in “a concerted effort to “silence Tantaros by threats, humiliation and retaliation,” the court papers also state.
Tantaros described the atmosphere as a “sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency and misogyny.”
According to court papers filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Tantaros charged:
“Fox News masquerades as a defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency and misogyny.”
Fox News employs a number on-air female newscasters and show co-hosts. Being drop-dead gorgeous seems to be a requirement of the job.
The network hired Tantaros in 2010 and made her a political correspondent. In 2011, Fox promoted her. She was named one of the co-hosts of a popular Fox News show called “The Five.”
She claims producers told her to always wear skirts on-air because “Roger wants to see your legs,” the suit states. But she says she was demoted and eventually taken off the air after she rejected Ailes’ sexual advances.
Ailes, she claims, also had an obsession with the sexual habits and sexual orientation of as many as 10 different Fox News personalities.
Tantaros claims Ailes made a number of inappropriate remarks to her, commenting on her body, but O’Reilly went even further.
The talk show host allegedly invited Tantaros to stay with him at his Long Island home. He claimed it would be “very private.” He also said he thought she was a “a wild girl” who had a “wild side,” according to the lawsuit.
Tantaros was abruptly taken off the air in April, as TheImproper has reported. In her lawsuit, Tantaros claims that was retaliation after she repeatedly complained about harassment.
Ailes has denied all charges. Lawyers for Fox claim Tantaros used the sexual allegations in April as part of a negotiating ploy during contract talks, according to The New York Times.
In a lawsuit filed in July, Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson a Stanford grad and former Miss America, accused the Fox News Chief and on-air talent Steve Doocy of inappropriate, heavy-handed sexual harassment.
Ailes was forced out of his job shortly afterward. An internal investigation discovered that he had also allegedly sexually harassed other female employees. He received a $40 million golden parachute.
Ailes is credited with building Fox News into a right-wing slanted news powerhouse.
He’s now reportedly advising GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on his media strategy.
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