Another female journalist has filed a lawsuit against 21st Century Fox accusing former CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Fox 5 reporter Lidia Curanaj, whose legal name is Lidija Ujkic, alleged in the lawsuit that Ailes sexually harassed her when she applied for a job at Fox News.
Curanaj said she first met Ailes at a dinner in 2011, which she attended with former New York state Sen. Gregory Ball, who she had dated. She interviewed with Ailes for a position at Fox News three months later, according to the lawsuit.
During the interview, Ailes asked Curanaj to stand up and turn around so he could “see [her] from behind,” according to the complaint. He then said, “I like what I see,” per the lawsuit.
Ailes then called Ball to ask, “How’s the sex?” and whether Curanaj “put out,” according to the complaint. Ball responded that Curanaj was a “very nice girl,” the lawsuit states.
Ailes told Curanaj that she was not ready to work at Fox News and told her to seek work at a local television station. The complaint states that Curanaj didn’t “receive the position at F.N.C. because Ailes determined that she would not submit to him sexually.”
The allegations from Curanaj follow lawsuits from former Fox News hosts Gretchen Carlson and Andrea Tantaros. Fox News settled a lawsuit filed by Carlson for $20 million after Carlson accused Ailes of making sexual advances for years and “shunning” her when she rejected his advances. Tantaros also accused Ailes of unwanted sexual advances, calling the former Fox CEO a “predator.”
Correction: This story originally incorrectly stated that Curanaj filed the lawsuit against Fox News. She sued the network’s parent company, 21st Century Fox. We regret the error.
Ailes is certainly a thoroughly repulsive individual (to say the least), but the conduct reported does not rise to the level of sexual harassment. Maybe that’s not the way it should be, but I’m afraid that’s the way it is.
(The woman is lucky she didn’t have to work at Fix.)
Based on Trump’s nominee track record to date Ailes seems an obvious fit for some department of workplace ethics in his administration. Every other proposed nominee seemingly was chosen to destroy their department from within, no reason to break the string with Ailes.
No…making her stand up and turn around so he could leer at her ass, and then saying he likes what he sees qualifies as sexual harassment. Unless Fox is now having their anchors deliver the news while standing with their asses facing the cameras.
Add to that his reaching out to a man she was dating to find out “hows the sex?” and if “she puts out” and is a pretty compelling case.
Good grief, if turning her down for the position because she won’t have sex with him doesn’t qualify with you as harassment, what does? He leered at her, commented on her body, called and asked her ex about sex… You think none of that is harassment? Shame on you.
No, but Fox show producers do make a point of placing female anchors in a position where a helluva lot of leg is showing. Rarely are they hidden behind a desk or otherwise blocked from view if what they have is deemed worthy of flaunting.
Two men couldn’t be placed in those outside chairs? Nah…
Funny how not a single female Fox News personality ever deems slacks or a pant suit fashionable. Ever.