Getty Images
Fox Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes announced today that he'd be stepping down from his roles at the company, effective immediately, following multiple allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct. He had held his positions for two decades, building Fox into the conservative media behemoth it's become today.
For a man who seemed "untouchable" at the top, his resignation comes about two weeks after former Fox News anchor and Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, her former boss. She alleged that "on multiple occasions Ailes directed her to turn around so he could leer at her posterior, made comments about her legs, and instructed her to wear more revealing outfits" and that "she experienced cuts in compensation, advertising support, and air time because of her refusal to give in to Ailes' advances."
A representative from Fox at the time told Glamour that Carlson's allegations were false, but the lawsuit prompted Fox to begin an internal review of the charges.
Since then, more women have come forward with their own experiences with Ailes. The weekend following Carlson's filing, New York magazine published six more accounts—part of a group of more than a dozen women who contacted Carlson's lawyer in the days after the news broke. The allegations date back to the 1960s.
Most recently, New York reported that the network's star, Megyn Kelly—who at first had remained conspicuously silent on the matter, even as several of her male network colleagues rushed to Ailes' defense—had revealed to anonymous sources that she'd been on the end of unwanted sexual advances from Ailes when she was starting out as a correspondent in Fox's Washington, D.C. bureau. It was speculated that, considering her growing presence and influence in the network, her testimony would be the "final element" needed to oust Ailes.
Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of News Corp (Fox's parent company), will take over Ailes' duties, acting as chairman and interim CEO.
More from Glamour.com:
Source: http://www.glamour.com/story/roger-ailes-resigns-as-fox-ceo-amid-sexual-harassment-allegations
No comments: