Former Blaze employee Tomi Lahren has filed a lawsuit against Glenn Beck and The Blaze for wrongful termination and access to her Facebook page after he fired her over pro-choice views she expressed on The View:
“I can’t sit here and be a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government but I think the government should decide what women do with their bodies.”
The Blaze suspended Lehran a few days later before terminating her employment. The document says that Lehran “did not want to file this lawsuit, but the conduct of Defendants and their refusal to resolve this matter without court intervention” forced her hand.
The Dallas Morning News reported:
According to Lahren’s lawsuit, filed Friday in Dallas County, The Blaze cancelled Lahren’s show after she made the controversial abortion statements last month on The View. But The Blaze wanted to keep paying Lahren, the suit says, “presumably hoping they could find an exit strategy to sanitize their unlawful conduct” in breaking Lahren’s two-year employment contract, which was to continue through Sept. 30.The hubbub surrounding Lahren’s comments was “a public smear campaign” orchestrated to “inflate Beck’s profile, from what has become a mediocre following, all at [Lahren’s] expense,” the suit alleges.The suit also says that The Blaze won’t allow Lahren access to her Facebook page, where she has 4.2 million followers, which has “irreparably harmed” Lahren.
Lahren insists in the lawsuit that her expressing “her First Amendment rights and her personal opinions about a woman’s right to choose is not a ‘for cause’ ground to support either a suspension or a de-facto termination” of her employment.”
The money claims will go through arbitration due to an arbitration agreement in the contract. But Lehran wants the court to allow her to compete elsewhere and take back her Facebook page, according to her lawyer Brian Lauten:
He said the company has already breached the contract “100 times over;” for example, the firm hasn’t fulfilled its promise to produce 230 one-hour episodes of Lahren’s show per year. He said Lahren wants to be free of her contract so she can go back to posting online and look for another job.”She’s like an eagle that feels like its had its wings clipped,” Lauten said. “She’s ready to pursue her career and reconnect w her millions of followers.”The suit asks a judge to grant Lahren a temporary restraining order, which would protect her right to speak freely as well as block The Blaze from destroying any evidence related to the fiasco. She’s asking for attorneys’ fees and costs, “as well as all other relief … which she may show herself justly entitled.”
The Blaze released this statement:
“It is puzzling that an employee who remains under contract (and is still being paid) has sued us for being fired, especially when we continue to comply fully with the terms of our agreement with her.”The company said that there will not be a separate statement from Beck.
Lahren also states that Beck and her co-workers knew about her pro-choice views and no one “took issue with it.”
But after her appearance, Beck and The Blaze received a lot of criticism for Lehran’s comments. Beck even retweeted one video that showed Lehran calling abortion murder:
Beck also suggested on Twitter that Lahren’s claim of being a libertarian clashed with her support of President Donald Trump’s executive orders and health care proposal, adding “#intellectualhonesty”.
Tomi Lahren Lawsuit Against The Blaze and Glenn Beck by Legal Insurrection on Scribd
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