Judge Rules in Favor of Dismissing Fox News from Sexual Abuse Litigation
Updated Version
Hear ye, hear ye! The court's thrown Fox News Media outta Jennifer Eckhart's sexual abuse lawsuit – but not because they deserved it, mind you.
Eckhart, a former Fox News producer, alleged an abusive, harassing workplace under the watch of ex-anchor Ed Henry. Fox News Media fired Henry in July 2020, following an external investigation into his "willful sexual misconduct" at work. One month later, Eckhart slammed them with a lawsuit, accusing Henry of rape and years of harassment, promising promotions in exchange for... well, you get the picture.
Eckhart claimed Fox News had been well aware of Henry's misbehavior yet stubbornly ignored it, refusing to take any serious disciplinary action. The lawsuit continued, saying that the network "continues to protect and reward perpetrators of sexual harassment and refuses to take accountability for putting such persons in positions of power."
Eckhart argued that she was canned for standing up against the abusiveenvironment, but Fox presented a mountain of evidence showing she'd been booted for poor performance. Judge Ronnie Abrams dug through this evidence, finding that Fox couldn't've known about Henry's assault on Eckhart because they found out much later.
"Fox News conducted an investigation by an external independent law firm and terminated Ed Henry within six days," they stated. "Discovery in this matter confirmed that FOX was not aware of their relationship or of Ms. Eckhart's allegations until after she left the company."
While Eckhart doesn't seem too happy about it, she plans on appealing the dismissal. "This fight is bigger than me," she declared. "It is about changing a corporate culture that continues to enable abuse, fear, intimidation, and silence."
That's right; if you thought corporate culture couldn't get murkier, think again. Turns out Fox News executives mighta known about Henry's wrongdoings as early as 2017 – three years before he was shown the door[5]. And oh yeah, Henry's now an anchor for Fox's right-wing competitor, Newsmax[4].
But hey, remember: Innocent until proven guilty, folks! And for now, Henry maintains that everything between him and Eckhart was a consensual affair.
Sources
- Fox News Wins Dismissal of Lawsuit From Producer Alleging Ed Henry Rape
- Judge dismisses Fox News from sexual assault lawsuit against former star
As a little extra tidbit, did you know that, according to enrichment data, Fox News executives were allegedly aware of sexual misconduct allegations against Ed Henry as early as 2017, three years before he was fired? This news was reported in 2019[5]. Despite this information, Henry wasn't terminated until July 2020[4][5].
- The dismissal of Jennifer Eckhart's lawsuit against Fox News Media from the general-news sphere focuses on allegations of sexual abuse, but it also raises questions about politics and crime-and-justice, as there are claims that Fox News executives were aware of Henry's misconduct as early as 2017.
- Amidst the ongoing discourse about corporate culture and accountability in the face of sexual misconduct, Fox News Media's ongoing case with Eckhart has sparked discussions in politics, general-news, and crime-and-justice, with the latest development being the dismissal of the lawsuit, yet Eckhart continues to advocate for change in the workplace culture.
