Journalist Ed Henry is suing FOX News and its CEO, claiming they made him look like a sex criminal after the network fired him in July 2020 for alleged sexual misconduct.
Henry’s departure from FOX shocked everyone, given his ‘good guy’ image and his high profile on the network. Henry co-hosted America’s Newsroom, but he made appearances on various shows.
Minyvonne Burke reports at NBC News:
Former Fox News host Ed Henry sues network, CEO for defamationFired Fox News host Ed Henry filed a defamation lawsuit against the network and its CEO, Suzanne Scott, alleging that he was publicly painted as a “sex criminal” in an attempt to save Scott’s reputation.The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey and comes almost a year after Henry was accused in a complaint of “violently” raping former Fox Business producer Jennifer Eckhart and sending “wildly inappropriate sexual images” to another woman…In his suit, Henry accuses Scott and the network of turning against him and abruptly firing him while “publicly humiliating him in the process.” It says that when the network released its statement announcing the termination, Scott insinuated that Henry was guilty of sexual misconduct.”Regrettably, Ms. Scott sandbagged Plaintiff with her statement, lending credence to the false allegations because she was trying to save her own career and burnish her image as a tough, no nonsense female executive who cleaned up Fox News,” the suit says.”In reality, however, Ms. Scott had long been an instrument to cover up the existence of sexual misconduct at Fox News,” it continues, accusing Scott of trying to hide an alleged affair between a subordinate and the network’s president, Jay Wallace.
In separate lawsuits, Henry is suing hosts at CNN and NPR and individual users on social media for smearing him.
Bruce Haring reports at Deadline:
CNN & NPR Commentators Sued For Defamation By Ed Henry, Fired Fox News HostEx-Fox News Host Ed Henry filed two more defamation lawsuits today in US District Court in New York, naming National Public Radio’s David Folkenflik and CNN’s Alysin Camerota and Brian Stelter (as well as their CNN parent, TBS) for their allegedly defamatory commentary and reporting on his firing by Fox News.The filings follow a similar lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York against Fox News and the channel’s CEO Suzanne Scott. That lawsuit also alleged defamation.One of the new complaints alleged that Folkenflik, Camerota and Stelter have “longstanding grudges against Fox News and/or individuals associated with the company,” causing them to repeat false allegations on the reasons why Henry was dismissed from Fox News relating to alleged sexual misconduct.The suit claims the defendants acted with malice toward Henry by “intentionally or recklessly making false statements about him.”
Read the complaint against CNN and NPR here.
Read the complaint against social media users here.
I remember watching FOX News when Sandra Smith announced the departure of her former co-host. She seemed shaken by the news. You could hear it in her voice.
Like everyone, Ed Henry is entitled to due process.
Featured image via YouTube.
A Fox News communications respresentative has provided the following statements to Legal Insurrection regarding the lawsuits:
STATEMENT ON THE ED HENRY LAWSUIT
“As we stated one year ago, FOX News Media conducted a thorough independent investigation into Ed Henry immediately after we were made aware of a serious misconduct claim against him by a former employee. Based on the results of those findings, we promptly terminated Mr. Henry’s employment for willful sexual misconduct and stand by the decision entirely. We are fully prepared to vigorously defend against these baseless allegations as Mr. Henry further embarrasses himself in a lawsuit rife with inaccuracies after driving his personal life into the ground with countless extramarital affairs in a desperate attempt for relevance and redemption.”
STATEMENT ON SUZANNE SCOTT
“Under the leadership of CEO Suzanne Scott, FOX News Media has worked tirelessly to transform the company culture, implementing annual, mandatory in-person harassment prevention training, creating an entirely new reporting structure, more than tripling the size of our HR footprint, conducting quarterly company meetings and mentoring events, as well as executing a zero tolerance policy regarding workplace misconduct for which we engage outside independent firms to handle investigations. No other company has enacted such a comprehensive and continuous overhaul, which notably, earned FOX News Media recognition as a “Great Place to Work” for the first time in its existence, a testament to the many cultural changes that Ms. Scott has instituted during her incredibly successful tenure as CEO.”
STATEMENT ON JAY WALLACE
“FOX conducted a full and independent investigation of the claims against Jay Wallace — he was cleared of any wrongdoing and the allegations are false.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY