SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Gretchen Carlson accused Ailes of having her show canceled for refusing his sexual advances. (Photo: Getty)
Gretchen Carlson Settles for $20 Million--Half What Ailes Will Get in Severance
'We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve,' Fox News said
Sep 06, 2016
Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson on Tuesday settled her sexual harassment lawsuit against the media company's former CEO Roger Ailes for $20 million and a public apology--about half of what Ailes is set to make in his severance package.
"We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve," the company said.
In the same statement, Carlson said she was "ready to move on."
"All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace in which talent, hard work, and loyalty are recognized, revered, and rewarded," she said.
The imbalance between Carlson's and Ailes' respective rewards was noted on social media:
\u201cFox News settles with Gretchen Carlson for $20 million, half of what they paid sexual harasser Roger Ailes to leave. https://t.co/fMESFyAIad\u201d— Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 (@Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645) 1473168143
Carlson in July accused Ailes of having previously had her weekday talk show canceled after she rebuffed his sexual advances. The bombshell lawsuit seemed to unveil a "cesspool of sexism" behind the scenes at Fox, prompting numerous women to come forward with stories of being harassed and retaliated against, including the network's star anchor, Megyn Kelly.
After an internal investigation by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Ailes stepped down, taking a $40 million parachute with him.
The rapid closure of the proceedings, according to Media Matters, "shows that the probe was little more than a pseudo-investigation."
"[A]s news broke that Carlson and 21st Century Fox settled the suit, Vanity Fair reported that 'the Paul, Weiss investigation...never officially expanded to examine the broader culture of Fox News.' According to Vanity Fair, Paul, Weiss 'was apparently never ordered to scour the company's hard drives for all evidence of sexual harassment or bawdy culture,'" Media Matters wrote.
Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of the women's rights group UltraViolet, said Tuesday that the settlement "is proof that Fox News executives created a toxic and dangerous work environment for female employees under the leadership of Roger Ailes--one rife with sexual harassment, abuse, and retaliation. It is telling that it took two months for Gretchen Carlson to get only half of what Roger Ailes, a serial sexual abuser, got from the network."
"It is critical that Fox News continues to investigate all claims of sexual harassment at the network and holds the perpetrators accountable for their actions....Anything less is a slap in the face to the dozens of women who have had to work in an unsafe, harassment-filled environment during Ailes' tenure at Fox News," she said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson on Tuesday settled her sexual harassment lawsuit against the media company's former CEO Roger Ailes for $20 million and a public apology--about half of what Ailes is set to make in his severance package.
"We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve," the company said.
In the same statement, Carlson said she was "ready to move on."
"All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace in which talent, hard work, and loyalty are recognized, revered, and rewarded," she said.
The imbalance between Carlson's and Ailes' respective rewards was noted on social media:
\u201cFox News settles with Gretchen Carlson for $20 million, half of what they paid sexual harasser Roger Ailes to leave. https://t.co/fMESFyAIad\u201d— Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 (@Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645) 1473168143
Carlson in July accused Ailes of having previously had her weekday talk show canceled after she rebuffed his sexual advances. The bombshell lawsuit seemed to unveil a "cesspool of sexism" behind the scenes at Fox, prompting numerous women to come forward with stories of being harassed and retaliated against, including the network's star anchor, Megyn Kelly.
After an internal investigation by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Ailes stepped down, taking a $40 million parachute with him.
The rapid closure of the proceedings, according to Media Matters, "shows that the probe was little more than a pseudo-investigation."
"[A]s news broke that Carlson and 21st Century Fox settled the suit, Vanity Fair reported that 'the Paul, Weiss investigation...never officially expanded to examine the broader culture of Fox News.' According to Vanity Fair, Paul, Weiss 'was apparently never ordered to scour the company's hard drives for all evidence of sexual harassment or bawdy culture,'" Media Matters wrote.
Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of the women's rights group UltraViolet, said Tuesday that the settlement "is proof that Fox News executives created a toxic and dangerous work environment for female employees under the leadership of Roger Ailes--one rife with sexual harassment, abuse, and retaliation. It is telling that it took two months for Gretchen Carlson to get only half of what Roger Ailes, a serial sexual abuser, got from the network."
"It is critical that Fox News continues to investigate all claims of sexual harassment at the network and holds the perpetrators accountable for their actions....Anything less is a slap in the face to the dozens of women who have had to work in an unsafe, harassment-filled environment during Ailes' tenure at Fox News," she said.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson on Tuesday settled her sexual harassment lawsuit against the media company's former CEO Roger Ailes for $20 million and a public apology--about half of what Ailes is set to make in his severance package.
"We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve," the company said.
In the same statement, Carlson said she was "ready to move on."
"All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace in which talent, hard work, and loyalty are recognized, revered, and rewarded," she said.
The imbalance between Carlson's and Ailes' respective rewards was noted on social media:
\u201cFox News settles with Gretchen Carlson for $20 million, half of what they paid sexual harasser Roger Ailes to leave. https://t.co/fMESFyAIad\u201d— Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645 (@Jamil Smith \u062c\u0645\u064a\u0644 \u0643\u0631\u064a\u0645) 1473168143
Carlson in July accused Ailes of having previously had her weekday talk show canceled after she rebuffed his sexual advances. The bombshell lawsuit seemed to unveil a "cesspool of sexism" behind the scenes at Fox, prompting numerous women to come forward with stories of being harassed and retaliated against, including the network's star anchor, Megyn Kelly.
After an internal investigation by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Ailes stepped down, taking a $40 million parachute with him.
The rapid closure of the proceedings, according to Media Matters, "shows that the probe was little more than a pseudo-investigation."
"[A]s news broke that Carlson and 21st Century Fox settled the suit, Vanity Fair reported that 'the Paul, Weiss investigation...never officially expanded to examine the broader culture of Fox News.' According to Vanity Fair, Paul, Weiss 'was apparently never ordered to scour the company's hard drives for all evidence of sexual harassment or bawdy culture,'" Media Matters wrote.
Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of the women's rights group UltraViolet, said Tuesday that the settlement "is proof that Fox News executives created a toxic and dangerous work environment for female employees under the leadership of Roger Ailes--one rife with sexual harassment, abuse, and retaliation. It is telling that it took two months for Gretchen Carlson to get only half of what Roger Ailes, a serial sexual abuser, got from the network."
"It is critical that Fox News continues to investigate all claims of sexual harassment at the network and holds the perpetrators accountable for their actions....Anything less is a slap in the face to the dozens of women who have had to work in an unsafe, harassment-filled environment during Ailes' tenure at Fox News," she said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.