Fox News Reportedly to Pay Gretchen Carlson $20 Million for Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Half of what the network paid Roger Ailes to step down as chairman.


Fox News is reportedly set to pay former news host Gretchen Carlson $20 million to settle the bombshell sexual harassment case she launched against Roger Ailes, the company’s now ousted chairman. News of the settlement, which was first reported by Vanity Fair, comes just two months after Carlson filed suit, which alleged Ailes fired her from the network after she refused his sexual advances.

Both Fox News and Carlson issued the following statements Monday morning:

On Friday, New York published a deeply reported and revealing account of the sexual harassment scandal rocking Fox News. Since Carlson filed suit, more women have come forward with their own stories alleging inappropriate sexual behavior by Ailes over the past three decades.

Ailes, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, was forced to resign from his position soon after Carlson’s lawsuit became public. Fox News paid the disgraced CEO $40 million to leave—double what it’s paying to settle Carlson’s lawsuit.

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We simply can’t afford to come up short. There is no cushion in our razor-thin budget—no backup, no alternative sources of revenue to balance our books. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the fierce journalism we do. That’s why we need you to show up for us right now.

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