During the 20 years in which Fox News was run by Roger Ailes, the network operated in an atmosphere of tense sexual harassment and fear of retaliation. Ailes, the conservative millionaire and advisor to the Trump campaign, resigned from his position as head of the conservative network last July, when he was hit with several sexual harassment charges.
Ailes was replaced by Bill Shine, his former deputy, who is now the co-president.
Before Ailes ignominious departure, Shine was often charged with handling delicate personnel matters. When he stepped into the leadership role, it was assumed by many that the network would begin to run more smoothly, and with less toxicity among the staff.
Last week, however, the New York Times revealed that roughly 13 million dollars have been paid out to five women who have accused Fox’s Bill O’Reilly of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior and verbal abuse. All of the cases were settled, in the hope of keeping the ugliness out of the public eye.
Now, however, yet another woman has come forward with an accusation of sexual harassment against Fox.
This time the accuser is a network contributor named Julie Roginsky. She is listed with the network as a “liberal” commentator. Ms. Roginsky alleges in her suit that Roger Ailes repeatedly engaged in inappropriate behavior toward her, and when she failed to respond to his advances, he retaliated.
The description of how Ailes treated his employee is very similar to the nasty, dirty-old-man actions brought forward in earlier accounts, by other female journalists. Roginsky says that Ailes repeatedly asked to meet with her alone in his office, and that he would turn the conversation to her private life. He’d ask who she was dating and why she wasn’t married, and he even encouraged her to date “older, married, conservative men.”
In a highly unoriginal move, the boss would insist that the considerably younger woman kiss him, but only when he was seated, so she’d have to lean down to do it.
Bill Shine is also named in the suit, because Roginsky says that he knew about Ailes’ behavior but did nothing to stop it. She went to him directly to complain, but he didn’t do a thing. He also supported Ailes in his efforts to retaliate against her by withdrawing an offer for a full time position with the network, and once Ailes stepped down, refusing to meet with her.
It’s pretty obvious that Fox News is a swamp of sexual harassment and disgusting boys’ club behavior. It’s also obvious that Fox executives have been lying and covering up this behavior for years.
You have to wonder about the viewers who continue to rely on it for factual information. What the hell are they thinking?
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
