Gretchen Carlson’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes has a variety of people offering their opinion. From Fox News hosts to former models, here are people who have taken a side publically.
The court filing alleges that Ailes said to Carlson on Sept. 16, 2015: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”
An increasing number of Fox News employees are coming out to defend Ailes on a daily basis, while Carlson has her share of supporters, too.
Greta Van Susteren has been with Fox News for 15 years and told TheWrap she has “absolutely never” seen Ailes act inappropriately toward women.
Jeanine Pirro told TheWrap her former colleague’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes is “absurd.”
“The Five” co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle told Breitbart that Ailes is “a champion of women” and “in terms of Roger’s character, integrity, and credibility, I cannot stand up enough for Roger.”
Maria Bartiromo has publically defended Ailes, who hired her at both CNBC and Fox Business.
Former Fox News host Kiran Chetry defended Ailes in the Huffington Post.
“I can’t speak for Gretchen since I wasn’t in the room obviously but I will tell you that I never felt uncomfortable around Roger Ailes,” she wrote.
“Outnumbered” co-host Harris Faulkner recently defended Ailes and credited him for her success. “He believed in me when people who looked like me were not in network news,” she told Mediaite.
Martha MacCallum denied a rumor that female Fox News hosts are banned from wearing pants on air.
Ainsley Earhardt now co-hosts “Fox & Friends,” the show Carlson used to be on. Earhardt has defended co-host Steve Doocy, who Carlson named in her lawsuit.
“He is nothing but nice. He is a gentleman. He is a family man,” she told Mediaite.
Neil Cavuto said Ailes “can be a huge pain in the ass,” but the allegations, “Don’t remotely resemble the Roger that I know,” to Business Insider.
Bret Baier told CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that, “The Roger I know is somebody who has been amazing to me.”
Bill O’Reilly said he “stands behind Roger Ailes 100 percent,” during a recent appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Elisabeth Hasselbeck once replaced Carlson on “Fox & Friends” and recently defended Ailes.
Geraldo Rivera wrote, “I’ve known him 40 years. He’s about as flirty as the grizzly in #TheRevenant. I stand with Roger Ailes” on Twitter.
A New York magazine piece recently profiled six women who reached out to Carlson’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, with complaints about Ailes.
Kellie Boyle told New York magazine that Ailes once told her, “You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys.”
This image is from her Facebook page, according to Daily Mail.
Marsha Callahan is a former model who told the magazine that Ailes told her, “Pretty girls like you are a dime a dozen.”
Sean Hannity bashed the author of the New York magazine story in a series of tweets.
Four other women who didn’t reveal their identities made similar claims about Ailes in the New York article. FNC later issued a statement denying the report.
Ailes’ outside counsel issued a statement about the New York story: “It has become obvious that Ms. Carlson and her lawyer are desperately attempting to litigate this in the press because they have no legal case to argue. The latest allegations, all 30 to 50 years old, are false.”
