Sean Hannity has denied the sexual harassment allegations made by a former Fox News guest.
The Fox News host slammed Debbie Schlussel’s claim that he pressured her to come to his hotel room as “a complete fabrication” in a statement on Monday.
“This individual has a history of making provably false statements against me in an effort to slander, smear and besmirch my reputation,” Hannity told NBC News. “The individual has not just slandered me over the years but many people who this individual disagrees with. This individual desperately seeks attention by any means necessary, including making unfounded personal attacks and using indefensible and outrageous political rhetoric.”
Schlussel made the accusation in a radio interview with KFAQ radio in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Friday. When asked if she had ever been sexually harassed at Fox News, Schlussel replied, “Only by Sean Hannity, not Bill O’Reilly … He tried to get me to go back to the hotel after the show.”
Schlussel says after she denied the invitation, she was “blacklisted” from the network by Hannity.
“Before that happened, he said I would be a regular guest on his show,” Schlussel told NBC News on Monday. “After I said I wouldn’t go to his hotel, I was blacklisted from Fox News. I just made a couple more appearances, and not on his show. That was it.”
Despite her comments on Friday, she later told the Associated Press that the behavior did not reach the level of sexual harassment.
The sexual harassment allegations follow the ousting of Bill O’Reilly last week. The host was removed from the network after a firestorm of controversy following a New York Times report that he and his employers had paid out $13 million in settlements to women accusing him of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior.