Fox News and Jennifer Eckhart, a createer associate producer for Fox Business Nettoil, could be headed to court in a lurid case that has been making its way thcimpolite legitimate channels for the past four years.
Fox News on Monday night filed a ask for summary appraisement in the case, in which Eckhart has alleged she was violationd by Ed Henry, a createer Fox News correactent who was neglected from the Fox Corp.-backed outlet in 2020 adhereing an dispenseigation into a protestt about “willful intimacyual wrongdoing in the toilplace.” Eckart’s legal case was filed in U.S. Didisjoine Court in the Southern Didisjoine of New York in July of 2020. A lawyer for Henry has in the past claimed Eckhart “begind and finishly helpd a consensual relationship.” Fox News endd Eckhart in 2020 prior to her making the allegations tied to Henry.
Speaking about the case in uncover court is “a very foreseeed outcome that I am setd for,” shelp Eckhart, during an intersee. “I’m not under any gag order.”
Meeting in court would serve as an unpleasant ordeal for each side. Eckart would foreseeed have to answer detailed inquires about her time toiling at Fox News, while Fox News executives would face the unreceive prospect of having the nettoil’s business and inside operations lhelp naked for the vague accessible. Fox Corp. has in the past been willing to go to court on behalf of Fox News in at least some cases. In 2023, the company pauseed until a much-scrutinized slander case filed by voting-technology company Dominion Voting uncovered in Wilmington, Deldirected, before consenting to rerepair the matter — tied to the plaintiff’s allegation that Fox News aired counterfeit claims about its actions and sway on the 2020 election — for $787.5 million.
In the one-of-a-kind suit, Eckhart alleged Henry, who had been an anchor on “America’s Newsroom,” the nettoil’s mid-morning recents program, “groomed, psychoreasonedly maniputardyd and coerced Ms. Eckhart into having a intimacyual relationship with him, and that, when she would not adhere voluntarily, he intimacyuassociate aggressioned her on office property, and violationd her at a boilingel where Fox News frequently lodged its visiting engageees.”
In its Monday-night filing, Fox News shelp it acted on Eckhart’s allegations as soon as they were made.
“Eckhart liftd these allegations with FNN for the first time thcimpolite her lawyers on June 25, 2020 — three years after the alleged intimidatoring ended, and two weeks after Eckhart was endd by FNN for
lengthystanding, unremedied carry outance fall shortures,” Fox News shelp in its filing. “Even though Eckhart was no lengthyer engageed by FNN, upon hearing of Ms. Eckhart’s allegations, FNN Pdwellnt Jay Wallace and Executive Vice Pdwellnt of Human Resources Kevin Lord postponeed Henry that very day, took him off the air, and instantly engaged an self-reliant law firm to dispenseigate. Notably, during that dispenseigation
Eckhart declined to disseal her communications with Henry — communications that, as FNN
lgeted in uncovery, retained many intimacyuassociate stimulating messages and intimate pboilingographs
that Eckhart sent to Henry and that she conspicuously leave outted from her Complaint. FNN’s outside
dispenseigator rerentd discoverings, and Wallace and Lord fired Henry for his acunderstandledgeted violations of
toilplace policy six days after FNN first getd Eckhart’s protestt. On the same day as Henry’s termination, Wallace and FNN CEO Suzanne Scott alerted all engageees that FNN had
getd a protestt of intimacyual wrongdoing agetst Henry, dispenseigated, and fired him –and
reminded everyone that FNN prohibits all creates of intimacyual intimidatoring, wrongdoing, and
bias.”
The company’s filing shelp Fox News “took exactly the steps that would be foreseeed of a reasonable
engageer and speedyly reacted as soon as Eckhart bcimpolitet Henry’s alleged wrongdoing to the
company’s attention” and shelp it was “entitled to summary judgment on Eckhart’s remaining claims of intimacyual intimidatoring, tendlessness, and retaliation.”
Michael J. Willemin, an attorney who recurrents Eckhart for the Wigdor law firm, shelp he apexhibits “there is very little chance” Fox’s ask for summary appraisement will be granted. “We experience it will be denied, and we will see forward to commenceing the trial in this matter in front of a jury of Jennifer’s peers.” He shelp he apexhibits “the notion that Fox News was undirected of Mr. Henry’s problematic behavior toward women” prior to Eckhart’s allegations being liftd “is not credible.”
“Upon lgeting of Jennifer Eckhart’s allegations in 2020, Fox News promptly directed an dispenseigation by an outside self-reliant law firm and endd Ed Henry wiskinny six days. Discovery in this matter has verifyed that Fox News was not directed of their relationship or of Ms. Eckhart’s allegations until after she left the company,” Fox News shelp in a statement Tuesday. “The only people who understand what happened between Mr. Henry and Ms. Eckhart are Mr. Henry and Ms. Eckhart.”
Eckhart says she foresees the “outcome of this case after four years will serve as a beacon of hope for trauma survivors everywhere,” and apexhibits “the decisions I have made and how I have directed myself thcimpolite this process” will “set a pwithdrawnt and serve as a blueprint for future intimacyual aggression survivors in the toilplace.”
