In a stunning move that is set to further roil the media world, Vanity Fair has reported that exactly two months after Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor sued her old boss Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, the company has agreed, on behalf of Ailes, to settle Carlson’s suit for a shocking $20 million, “according to three people familiar with the settlement.” Furthermore, in an unprecedented attempt to push the scandal under the rug, the company is expected to offer Carlson a public apology as part of the settlement. (The company, according to two people familiar with the discussions, has also reached settlement agreements with two other women.)
Ironically, the settlement comes just one day after the FT reported that Ailes had hired the Hollywood libel lawyer who recently represented former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan and would-be first lady Melania Trump to take on New York magazine after the publication ran an expose about his tenure at the helm of Fox News. Charles Harder vaulted to the top tier of celebrity litigators after winning $140m in damages earlier this year for Mr Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, against Gawker, the online media group that was forced to file for bankruptcy following the verdict.
Mr Harder has written to New York magazine to take issue with articles about the former Fox News chief by Gabriel Sherman, who has chronicled Mr Ailes’ downfall following sexual harassment allegations made by female Fox employees. Mr Sherman has covered Mr Ailes consistently for several years and written a book about the former Fox News chairman.
The FT added that it is unclear if Mr Ailes will ultimately sue Mr Sherman or New York magazine. Mr Ailes could not be reached for comment and Mr Harder did not return emails seeking comment. Sherman declined to comment but a spokeswoman for New York magazine confirmed the publication had been contacted by Mr Harder, adding that Mr Sherman’s stories had been “very carefully reported”.
A quick reminder on the tension between Ailes and Sherman from Vanity Fair:
On Friday, Ailes biographer and New York writer Gabriel Sherman, who has broken key elements of the story, published a lengthy cover article detailing Ailes’s downfall. As I have reported, Ailes’s own apparent paranoia increased around the time that Sherman began reporting his unauthorized biography, which was published in early 2014. According to a person close to Ailes, he hung a wooden door, now dismantled, that obscured any view into his office suite; according to numerous people, he also recorded anyone who entered. Ailes kept guns in the office (a Glock and Smith & Wesson were discovered by 21st Century Fox after his ouster). Carlson and others, including former Fox News booker Laurie Luhn, also detailed Ailes’s alleged harassment, much of it outlined by Sherman in his coverage.
The barrage of surprising announcements continued this morning when moments ago Politico’s Jake Sherman reported that long-time Fox staple Greta Van Susteren is leaving Fox:
NEWS- @greta leaving Fox News! @brithume will anchor “On the Record!”
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 6, 2016
However, what has drawn commentators’ attention is the surprising eagerness of Fox to settle Ailes’ harassment lawsuits so early in the pending litigation cases, making many wonder just how bad the underlying reality must be for Fox to be willing to squash the growing scandal so quickly.
Finally, while one can not attribute Ailes’ personal weakness to Trump, one thing is certain: no matter how the Donald’s campaign ends, the Fox of old, which has had a rather problematic relationship with the republican frontrunning, will never be the same.
via http://ift.tt/2bV2HQz Tyler Durden