Gretchen Carlson, who quietly disappeared from her afternoon shift on Fox News Channel last month, has filed a sexual harassment suit against her former boss Roger Ailes.
Carlson's complaint filed Tuesday in Superior Court in New Jersey said Ailes, chairman and CEO of Fox News, "sabotaged" the anchor's career at the cable channel because she complained about a hostile working environment when she was a co-host of "Fox and Friends." The suit also alleges that Ailes made sexual advances that were rebuffed by Carlson and that he directed innuendo-filled comments toward her.
Carlson's contract with Fox News expired June 23 and was not renewed, according to the suit. A Fox News spokesperson has yet to provide a comment.
Carlson, 50, was a co-host of the channel's morning program "Fox and Friends" from 2005 to 2013. Her suit alleges that Ailes retaliated against her after she complained about condescending on-air behavior by co-host Steve Doocy. The suit alleges that during a live broadcast in 2009, Doocy yanked Carlson's arm down to silence her during a live telecast. It also charged Doocy mocked her during commercial breaks and refused to engage with her on the program.
The suit goes on to allege that Ailes was dismissive of Carlson's complaints and that they led to his reducing her opportunities on the network and eventually pulling her off of "Fox and Friends," the most watched morning show on cable. After departing the program, Carlson was given her own afternoon hour "The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson," which she believes lowered her profile at Fox News. The suit says that Ailes "significantly reduced" Carlson's compensation and withheld promotional support for her show after the move.
The suit also lists a series of sexually charged comments allegedly made by Ailes to Carlson about her physical appearance and suggestions that her standing at Fox News would be better if she had a sexual relationship with him.
"I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago," is what Carlson alleges Ailes said in a Sept. 16, 2015 meeting they had to discuss the discriminatory treatment she believed she had suffered.
In a statement that accompanied a summary of the complaint provided by her attorneys, Carlson said, "Although this was a difficult step to take, I had to stand up for myself and speak out for all women and the next generation of women in the workplace."
