In the wake of a former Fox News host's lawsuit against Roger Ailes, New York Magazine reports more than a dozen women have come forward with detailed allegations of sexual harassment by the Fox News chief over a 25-year period.
In its latest edition, the magazine says the women — ranging from a one-time model to a former field adviser for the Republican National Committee — recalled their stories to an attorney for Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox News host who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes last week.
In her lawsuit, filed in state court in New Jersey, Carlson alleged she was fired last month and her career was sabotaged because she refused Ailes' sexual advances and complained about what the suit says is “severe and pervasive sexual harassment.”
The magazine said the allegations by six of the women — including two who agreed to speak on the record — portray Ailes as a powerful executive who spoke openly of expecting women to perform sexual favors in exchange for job opportunities.
Ailes’s spokesperson Irena Briganti did not respond to requests for comment before publication, New York Magazine said.
On Saturday afternoon, Ailes' attorney, Barry Asen issued a response to the story, saying: "It has become obvious that Ms. Carlson and her lawyers are desperately attempting to litigate this in the press because they have no legal case to argue. The latest allegations, all 30 to 50 years old, are false."
The allegations cover a period dating back to the 1960s — before Ailes joined Fox News — when, among other jobs, he was a producer on The Mike Douglas Show. Carlson's attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, says the women have never told their stories before. “Some are in lot of pain,” she tells New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman, who has also written a biography of Ailes.
“He said that’s how all these men in media and politics work — everyone’s got their friend,” recalls Kellie Boyle, a former field adviser for the Republican National Committee. Boyle alleges that Ailes propositioned her in 1989, shortly after he helped George H.W. Bush become president as his chief media strategist. She alleges that Ailes also named women he had sexual relations with through that arrangement.
Boyle, 54, says she acted noncommittal but found that her meeting with the National Republican Congressional Committee the next morning to sign a contract was abruptly canceled and that a highly placed friend in the organization told her later that the word "went out" that she was not to be hired.
Marsha Callahan, 73, and a former model, tells the magazine that Ailes allegedly told her he would put her in The Mike Douglas Show if she went to bed with him. She says she declined.
Another model, who would only be interviewed under the pseudonym "Susan," alleges that Ailes, in 1967, took her into an office, locked it and then removed his pants and underwear in an attempt to convince her to engage in sexual activity, which she says she declined. At one point, she alleges, he chased her around the room.
On Friday, Ailes lawyer sought to block Carlson's lawsuit by filing a motion in federal court to move the case to arbitration, which would prevent witnesses from being called in court, saying the suit is a "shameless publicity campaign."
In a response to the latest volley from Ailes' attorney, Smith noted Saturday that an Ailes spokesperson had earlier challenged Carlson's legal team to come forward with other alleged victims to speak on the record.
She said "six brave women" had gone public with their stories and "we are hearing from others."
She said Ailes attorney had declared the latest allegations false only three hours after they were published. "How does she know that?" Smith asked.
She added that the women have a right to speak out and that calling them liars is "despicable."
"Bulllying and threats will not silence these brave women," Carlson's attorney said in a statement.
Contributing: Roger Yu
