Lawsuit accuses ex-Fox News reporter Ed Henry of rape, says Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson harassed other woman Mon, Jul 20 2020 Dan Mangan
A bombshell lawsuit accuses former Fox News chief national correspondent Ed Henry of raping one woman, and says that the network’s star anchor Sean Hannity once offered $100 to staffers to “date” a second woman who also accuses Henry of sexual harassment.
The suit says that in addition to Henry, plaintiff Cathy Areu was sexually harrassed by multiple other men at Fox News, including Hannity, the host Tucker Carlson, journalist Howard Kurtz and network political analyst Gianno Caldwell.
The other plaintiff, Areu’s fellow former Fox News employee Jennifer Eckhart, claims that Henry raped her, in addition to committing other sexual misconduct against her.
A bombshell lawsuit filed by two women Monday accused former Fox News chief national correspondent Ed Henry of raping one of them and says that the network’s star anchor Sean Hannity once offered $100 to staffers to “date” another woman who also accuses Henry of sexual harassment.
The federal suit says that one of the plaintiffs, Cathy Areu, also was sexually harassed by other high-profile men at Fox News, including Hannity, host Tucker Carlson, journalist Howard Kurtz and contributor Gianno Caldwell.
The other plaintiff, former Fox Business associate producer Jennifer Eckhart, claims that Henry raped her, in addition to committing other sexual misconduct against her.
Areu had been a frequent guest on Fox News, but the network says she was neither an employee nor a contributor. However, the lawsuit identifies her as meeting the definition of an employee, albeit not a full-time one.
The Manhattan federal court lawsuit comes three weeks after Fox News fired Henry for what the network said was sexual misconduct.
The suit names as defendants Fox News, Hannity, Carlson and Kurtz and was filed on behalf of Eckhart and Areu by lawyers Douglas Wigdor and Michael Willemin.
Fox News in a statement said that an investigation had found that all of Areu’s claims against the men, other than Henry, were “false” and that it intended to fight her allegations.
The network added that Areu and Eckhart can pursue their legal claims “against Ed Henry directly with him, as FOX News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart’s claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network.”....
“Ed Henry looks forward to presenting actual facts and evidence, which will contradict the fictional accounts contained in the complaint. That evidence includes graphic photos and other aggressively suggestive communications that Ms. Eckhart sent to Mr. Henry.”
The women’s lawsuit says that in late June, Eckhart’s lawyer put Fox News on notice of legal claims against the network and Henry, and informed Fox “in graphic and specific detail, how Mr. Henry groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced Ms. Eckhart into having a sexual relationship with him.”....
Eckhart’s lawyers said that when Fox News terminated Henry, the network “purported to take credit for acting appropriately.”
“However, nothing could be further from the truth,” the suit says.
It says Fox knew that Henry “had engaged in sexual misconduct as far back as early 2017,” when “multiple women came forward to complain that Mr. Henry had engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct towards them.”
But Henry was not fired or even disciplined after those earlier accusations, the suit says....
The suit also says, “It is widely documented in the public record that Fox News has not only cultivated and fostered sexual harassment and misconduct, but has consistently accepted and rewarded it. Nevertheless, Fox News would have the public believe that it is a different place from the Fox News that was run by former disgraced Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.”
“Unfortunately, it is actually worse,” the suit says.
Fox News said in its statement, “Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areu’s claims against FOX News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity & Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit.”....
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