Fox News has agreed to pay $12 million to former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who accused the network of operating a hostile and discriminatory workplace and coercing her into perjury in a deposition.
Ms. Grossberg’s attorney, Parisis G. Filippatos said the settlement ended all of Ms Grossberg’s claims against Fox and those she named in her complaints, including former host Tucker Carlson and some of her producers.
Ms Grossberg’s legal team filed a motion on Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York to dismiss the remaining lawsuit against Fox in light of the settlement.
Ms Grossberg said in a statement on Friday that she stood by her allegations, but was “glad that Fox News has taken me and my legal claims seriously.”
“Based on our discussions with Fox News today, I am hopeful that this proposal represents a positive step by the network regarding the treatment of women and minorities in the workplace,” she added.
“We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without litigation,” a Fox spokesperson said in a statement Friday.
Mr Carlson’s former senior executive producer Justin Wells, who was named in the complaint, said in a post on Twitter: “We deny Ms Grossberg’s claims and allegations against Tucker Carlson and his team. Nevertheless, we are pleased that Fox has resolved this matter and all parties can move forward.
The settlement with Ms. Grossberg is the latest development in a series of legal battles involving Fox. In April, the company paid Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million, believed to be the largest settlement in a defamation case. A few days later, Fox took its most popular host, Tucker Carlson, off the air after the company’s leadership concluded that he was more of a problem than an asset and had to go.
Fox is facing a second defamation case by another voting technology company. Smartmatic, like Dominion, says Fox intentionally spread misinformation about its products, making baseless claims that they contributed to election fraud in 2020.
The allegations against Fox by Ms Grossberg, 42, stem partly from the Dominion case. In March, she filed a lawsuit in Delaware, claiming that Fox forced her to lie in her sworn testimony in the case. Ms. Grossberg amended her witness testimony ahead of the Dominion trial, creating another hurdle for Fox’s legal team, which had already suffered several setbacks in pre-trial rulings.
Ms. Grossberg also filed a separate lawsuit in New York accusing Fox and Mr. Carlson of fostering a culture of widespread misogyny and sexual harassment. She said she was subjected to gender discrimination and anti-Semitism during her time as booking head on “Tucker Carlson Tonight”.
Fox fired Ms Grossberg four days after she filed two lawsuits, saying in a statement at the time that she had disclosed privileged information about the Dominion case. She withdrew the Delaware lawsuit in May, but her attorney said at the time that they planned to file the lawsuit again in New York.
Ms. Grossberg joined Fox News in 2019 as a senior producer for host Maria Bartiromo. In August 2022, she moved to Mr. Carlson’s team as Head of Booking.
In her lawsuit, Ms. Grossberg said she found a workplace tainted by misogyny and harassment, where male producers openly sexually discriminated against her and her co-workers, made lewd jokes and decorated the place with pictures of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Was decorated , showing off her cleavage in a swimsuit.
Ms. Grossberg never met Mr. Carlson, who worked mostly from his homes in Florida and Maine, but she frequently corresponded with him over email, text and video calls. Mr. Carlson’s staff in New York was headed by Senior Executive Producer Mr. Wells. (Mr. Wells was fired by Fox in April.)
After filing her lawsuit, Ms. Grossberg sent audio recordings of her time at Fox to other media organizations. The recording showed, among other things, the immense talent of Mr. Carlson. Effect on the Republican Party; Former President Donald J. an admission by Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, that he did not have evidence of voter fraud; And Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ms. Bartiromo discussed their efforts to prevent President Biden’s election victory.
Ms Grossberg’s lawyer Mr Filippatos confirmed she had been contacted by the office of the special counsel probing Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and that he and his client were cooperating. Mr. Filippatos said at least 90 tapes have been recovered and Ms. Grossberg’s legal team is conducting a forensic analysis of all of Ms. Grossberg’s equipment to look for any additional recordings.
Ms. Grossberg said she would not comment further on her allegations against Fox or her time at the company, but “will continue to speak out on issues and causes I believe in, including journalism, equality, dignity and respect in the workplace.” Is.” ,
