New claims against Fox News and Ed Henry revealed in Jennifer Eckhart’s lawsuit

A new lawsuit by the former associate producer of Fox News Jennifer Eckhart contains previously unreported allegations of sexual assault and harassment on the cable network.

Eckhart sued Fox News and former host Ed Hendrik in 2020 for her claim that Henry had done so forcibly raped her in 2017. Henry has vehemently denied the allegations. Fox News said yes dismissed Henry immediately after learning of Eckhart’s claims. Eckhart has disputed both of their accounts in the past.

Wednesday Eckhart’s legal advisor Michael J. Willemina partner at Wigdor LLP, filed a 39-page motion that Mediaite obtained. The legal assignment The opposition to Fox’s motion for summary judgment included shocking new claims that Henry had also assaulted another female Fox News colleague during his tenure at the network and that multiple Fox News staffers had alerted company executives to their concerns about him , along with other previously unreported allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment at Fox News by other male employees still with the network.

The document contained in the court records has been redacted in several places, but key details of these allegations still remain public.

Fox News has done that repeatedly denied wrongdoing and argued in pleadings that Eckhart “told no one about her sexual encounters with Henry” and “made no complaints of sexual harassment or retaliation until after her termination from” the network.

In a new statement in response to the latest letter, Fox said: “After missing their filing deadline, Ms. Eckhart’s attorneys are now desperately trying to salvage their case. As discovery in this case confirmed, FOX News was not aware of any relationship between Ms. Eckhart and Mr. Henry or any allegations of unwanted sexual activity by Mr. Henry until after she left the company.

Willemin argues in the filing against Fox’s denial of responsibility by attempting to establish that the network “knew” that Henry posed a “significant risk” because of his past conduct and “failed to address prior allegations against Henry 2017,” which posed a “significant risk” to Fox News. safe haven for men engaging in sexual harassment and assault.”

This past behavior includes an “affair” Henry had with a Las Vegas stripper in May 2016, the memo states, which led to Fox News suspending Henry (with pay) and ordering him to seek treatment for sex addiction to search.

Henry’s problems were not limited to “a single consensual affair,” Willemin writes, but rather a pattern of “workplace sexual misconduct,” including using a Fox News-issued device to participate in “a ‘sexting incident’ that the ‘DC Bureau Ed helped cover up,’” for Fox News learned about Mr. Henry’s affair with a stripper,” and entered into an inappropriate “sexual relationship” with another colleague:

As described in more detail below, none of these allegations have ever been investigated in any meaningful way. It turned out that Mr. Henry slept with (redacted). This sexual relationship, which involved a similar and serious imbalance of power, began in November 2016, after Mr Henry returned from suspension, and predated the rape of Ms Eckhart in February 2017. (Redacted) has described Mr Henry as a ‘predator’, who used the ‘imbalance of power’ to get her to enter into a relationship – including forcing her to perform sex acts in Mr Henry’s office – that was ‘predatory’. “emotionally abusive” and “not as ‘consensual’ as (she) thought.” Prior to Ms. Eckhart’s 2017 rape, Mr. Henry sent a photo of his penis to a 22-year-old (redacted). The photo was completely unsolicited and (redacted) was shocked and angry when he received it. (Redacted) believes she told Fox News colleagues about this sexual harassment in 2016.

In short, it was common knowledge at Fox News that Mr. Henry posed a serious risk to his female colleagues. In 2016, Fox Business anchor Liz Claman told Ms. Eckart that “everyone at Fox News knows Ed Henry is a sex addict. That’s no secret.” (Redacted) reported that when Mr. Henry returned from suspension in 2016, “people in DC and New York () contacted her to express their discomfort and disdain” that Mr. Henry was back. (Redacted) also stated that Mr. Henry had not changed after graduating from the “sex addict camp” and warned that he would use his position of power to prey on women. Fox News (redacted) who worked with Mr. Henry in the DC Bureau said they and others openly discussed Mr. Henry’s inappropriate behavior toward women on the network, as well as a sexual relationship with which he had (redacted). Mr. Henry’s penchant and reputation for sexual harassment was so well known in the industry that after this case was filed, one of his previous targets tweeted: “No way @foxnews didn’t know about Ed Henry. He was a threat to a lot of us on the communications side when he was @cnn and everyone was talking about it. Literally so so dirty.” (Quotes omitted.)

Eckhart’s attorney dismisses Fox’s claims that Henry was sent to a sex addiction rehab program because of “a single extramarital affair with a non-employee” as “completely ridiculous,” stating that it was because the network “knew he was a risk formed’. to his female colleagues, staff and subordinates.”

“And despite knowing this,” Willemin wrote, “Fox News welcomed him back with open arms, rewarded him by dramatically extending his contract, increasing his salary to per year, promoting him to a coveted anchor role and continuing with enabling and we must turn a blind eye to his actions and actually condone his behavior while the red flags, complaints and warning signs pile up.”

Specifically, the memo details Eckhart’s accusation that Henry raped her in February 2017, during which Henry allegedly “forcibly raped” her after “forcing himself on her,” “torn” her clothes, and handcuffed her had done and had taken pictures of her without her consent. , hit and hit her, hit her with his belt. Eckhart’s attorney argues that Henry was able to grab Eckhart alone and rape her, even after Henry committed other alleged sexual assaults against her, because she was “even more afraid” of him after Fox News brought him back after his suspension .

Willemin also states that another Fox News employee alleged she was sexually assaulted by Henry after he returned from suspension around 2017. The employee, whose name was redacted, detailed the alleged attack in sworn testimony as part of Eckhart’s case.

“Fox News’ treatment of Mr. Henry after his return to the network has only emboldened him as he escalated his abuse of women by not only raping Ms. Eckhart, but also sexually assaulting another Fox News colleague ”, writes Willemin.

The memo details a page and a half of other allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment gathered from sworn testimony — mostly with relevant names redacted — including several men described as still employed by Fox News. A sampling of these allegations from the testimony, as described in the memo:

(Redacted) was twice accused of sexual harassment at Fox News, including asking interns and production assistants for sexual favors and leering at the breasts of female subordinates. (Redacted) remained employed and during this lawsuit, a former female colleague filed a deposition that she was raped by (redacted) in his Fox News office. (Redacted) remains employed at Fox News to this day, despite being aware of this accusation and affidavit.

(Edited) has been the subject of approximately five complaints of discrimination, retaliation and/or a hostile work environment. He was never disciplined and remains employed by Fox News.

Fox News personality (redacted) sexually harassed his colleague (redacted). Although Mr. Lord testified that (redacted) sent Ms. (redacted) inappropriate sexual texts, he could not recall whether (redacted) (who to this day plays a very prominent role at Fox News) was disciplined at all. (Quotes omitted.)

Henry currently works at Newsmax. When he was hired, sparks flew internal outrage over the sexual abuse claims against him, according to Newsmax staffers. Prior to joining Newsmax, Henry was an anchor on Real America’s Voice.

During his tenure at RAV, the scandal-plagued Henry was accused of sending obscene, sexually explicit texts and memes and making inappropriate comments to a female subordinate at the right-wing news organization. Mediaite reported this in July.

Since leaving Fox News, Eckhart has hosted the podcast Reinvented with Jennifer Eckhart.

Eckhart’s attorney told Mediaite in a written statement: “As made clear in today’s filings, there is no merit to Fox News or Ed Henry’s desperate attempts to extricate themselves from this case. We are confident that Fox News and Mr. Henry will be held accountable by a jury or Ms. Eckhart’s colleagues, and we very much look forward to bringing this case to trial.”

“Despite the millions of dollars a publicly traded company spent to defame me, and the indisputable facts I presented, this lawsuit is now one step closer to trial,” Eckhart said in a statement to Mediaite. “What is set out in our documentation unfortunately reflects many corporate cultures in the US – this is a watershed moment that puts a spotlight on these standards. My heart goes out to every other woman who suffered at the hands of Ed Henry, as we learned during the discovery process of this case that I am not the only survivor and Fox News employee he groomed and sexually assaulted. I eagerly await my day in court to shed even more light on the immorality of the culture the network continues to promote, and on the countless other survivors who have suffered at the hands of pure evil.”

Mediaite contacted Ed Henry’s legal counsel but received no response.

Read the edited memorandum of law below:

Declaration of law submitted by… Through Sarahrumpf

Disclosure: Diana Falzone was an on-camera reporter for Fox News from 2012 to 2018. In May 2017, she filed and settled a gender discrimination and disability lawsuit against the network, leaving the company in March 2018.

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