Gretchen Carlson Slaps Fox CEO with Sexual Harassment Suit
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson is suing network CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment.
Carlson, who had been with Fox since 2005, claims she was fired because she refused his sexual advances.
Carlson says Ailes reportedly told her, "You and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago."
Meanwhile, Fox has responded to Carlson's lawsuit, saying her contract simply expired and that's why she filed her suit.
Ailes himself has also issued a personal statement denying Carlson's allegations.
"Gretchen Carlson's allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for the network's decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup," he said.
But the former Miss America isn't backing down, saying there was a pattern of discriminatory behavior at Fox.
"We believe that the evidence will confirm that Gretchen was fired from 'Fox & Friends' for speaking up about demeaning and discriminatory behavior on and off the set," Nancy Erika Smith, an employment litigator at Smith Mullin P.C., a New Jersey firm that is representing Carlson, said in a statement.
In Carlson's last role at Fox, she anchored a show called "The Real Story." That came after 11 years alongside Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade on "Fox and Friends" in the morning.