More Female Fox News Anchors Come Forward to Defend Roger Ailes

[Ubiquitous]

"I have never been instructed on the length of my skirt or the color
of my lipstick," says Fox News anchor Sandra Smith.

A growing contingent of Fox News employees are coming forward to
publicly support embattled chairman and CEO Roger Ailes in the wake
of the sexual harassment claims by former anchor Gretchen Carlson.

"I have had a great personal and professional relationship with
Roger. He's always been very open. We've had a lot of great one-on-
one conversations," Martha MacCallum, who co-hosts America's
Newsroom with Bill Hemmer, tells The Hollywood Reporter. MacCallum,
who has been at Fox News for 12 years, describes Carlson's
allegations as "shocking. Everybody I know at Fox was shocked."

"I was very surprised and a little bit confused," adds Sandra Smith,
who hosts the all-female afternoon program Outnumbered and came to
Fox News in 2007 from Bloomberg.

Mercedes Colwin, a Fox News legal analyst since 2005 and a veteran
employment lawyer, says she was "furious" when she heard about the
suit.

The women join a list of female Fox News employees including Greta
Van Susteren, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, a former New York
prosecutor, who have come to the defense of Ailes. Megyn Kelly, the
most high-profile female anchor on the network, has yet to speak out
about the controversy.

Carlson, who left the network last month after 11 years, seven and a
half them as the lone female co-host of morning show Fox & Friends,
alleged in a lawsuit filed in New Jersey Superior Court that she was
terminated after rebuffing sexual advances from Ailes and
complaining of pervasive sexual harassment at the hands of her Fox &
Friends co-host Steve Doocy, with whom she was known to have an icy
relationship.

A devout Christian who taught Sunday school and is married to sports
agent Casey Close, Carlson was taken off the show in 2013 and given
her own 2 p.m. program. According to Carlson's suit, Ailes responded
to her complaints about Doocy by "calling Carlson a 'man hater' and
'killer' and telling her that she needed to learn to 'get along with
the boys.'" Carlson's attorney also alleges that Ailes ogled her, at
one point asking her to "turn around so he could view her posterior"
and encouraging her to wear clothes that accentuated her figure.

"Amazing, a television executive who cares what his television
screen looks like. I mean, this isn't a shocker," says Smith, who
adds she has "never been instructed on the length of my skirt or the
color of my lipstick. It doesn't happen. I do work with women who do
like to look good and feel good. Many of us are athletes and we work
out, some of us work out together. That's just the environment we're
in. We do care about — not just what we sound like and what we know
— but what we look like. And image is important, believe it or not,
when you're on a television screen."

Since the allegations exploded into public view on July 6, six more
women [2] have come forward with stories of alleged harassment at
the hands of Ailes, all of them before Ailes started Fox News
Channel in 1996. The stories are lurid and include propositions of
sex and in many cases retaliation for fending off advances. Ailes'
attorney has denied all of the allegations.

Combative and fiercely competitive, Ailes, 76, is known to have
little patience for what he views as the out-of-control political
correctness of today. But many Fox News employees past and present
often describe him as "loyal," especially to talent. Television news
divisions have endured a particularly male-dominant hierarchy. But
there is a zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment in today's
corporate culture. And while news organizations are also known to be
hotbeds of office gossip, all three women deny that there were
rumors about the treatment Carlson is alleging.

"There's a big difference between that kind of thing and the
allegations that are being discussed here," says MacCallum. "So I
would say no, nothing like sexual harassment or impeding someone's
career. No. I would put that in a whole different category from
anything that I have ever heard."

Adds Smith: "If I ever felt like I was working in a hostile
environment, I wouldn't be here."

Says Colwin: "By her demeanor and the way she comported herself, you
would never ever conceive that [Carlson] had these allegations and
would bring them to light, ever."

But people who know Carlson, who earned a sociology degree in
organizational behavior from Stanford, suggest she went into the
lawsuit with her eyes fully open to the potential consequences. In
her 2015 book, Getting Real, Carlson recounted vague sexual
harassment encounters when she was on the Miss America pageant
circuit and also first attempting to break into the TV news
business.

"It had never occurred to me, because I hadn't experienced it, that
there were people who thought women weren't equal to men in the
workplace — much less that some men would try to take advantage of
me," she wrote.

Her suit, suggest multiple sources who know Carlson and believe her
charges against Ailes are true, could burnish her credentials as a
defender of women's rights — and just may help revive a flagging TV
career. "She has nothing to lose," says one.

In response to Carlson's claim, Ailes released a statement on July
6: "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. When Fox News did not commence any
negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that
her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began
to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, Fox News provided her with more
on-air opportunities over her 11-year tenure than any other employer
in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This
defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit
and will be defended vigorously."

In a statement released the same day, Fox News parent 21st Century
Fox said the company takes "these matters seriously," voiced "full
confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy" and announced that they have
"commenced an internal review of the matter."

It's unclear if results of that review will be made public. Neither
MacCallum nor Smith have been contacted by 21st Century Fox
personnel handling the review, they say.

Meanwhile Ailes' personal lawyer David W. Garland filed a motion on
July 8 attempting to get the dispute to confidential arbitration,
citing a provision in Carlson's contract stipulating that disputes
be arbitrated by a three-member panel. Such provisions are common in
employment contracts, but Carlson attorneys argue the arbitration
clause doesn't apply because she sued Ailes individually, not Fox
News. Ailes' outside counsel Barry Asen countered in a statement:
"Ms. Carlson voluntarily entered into an agreement with Fox to
arbitrate all claims and disputes related to her employment; she
cannot avoid that agreement because she now wants to soil Mr.
Ailes's reputation in the media. She did not object to the
arbitration clause when she signed her lucrative employment contract
three years ago. The first time that she objected was last week in
the media."

Asked what the atmosphere at Fox News is like today, Smith answers:
"Business as usual."


Links:
[1] http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?
url=www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/more-female-anchors-defend-fox-
909866&media=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/im
agecache/news_landscape/2016/07/martha_maccallum_sandra_smith_merced
es_colwin_split.jpg&description=More Female Fox News Anchors Come
Forward to Defend Roger Ailes
[2] http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/six-more-women-
allege-ailes-sexual-harassment.html

--
BREAKING NEWS
In other news, somehow Crooked Hillary still isn't in prison...

[David Johnston]

It would be more effective to bring forward a bunch of former employees
to defend him.

[FPP]

On 2016-07-12 09:36:47 +0000, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> said:

> Asked what the atmosphere at Fox News is like today, Smith answers:
> "Business as usual."

No kidding. Lying, stoking racial hatred, and harassing women old
enough to be your daughter continues unabated. Fox is a shill for the
Republican Party, and their "family values".

It's what Fox News viewers have come to expect.
--
Q: How do you know when <NoB...@nowhere.com> is lying? A: Ubiquitous
<web...@polaris.net> fingers are moving.
<NoB...@nowhere.com> reveals himself and Klaus Schadenfreude
<klausscha...@null.net> to be sockpuppets of sickpuppy Ubiquitous
<web...@polaris.net>
http://al.howardknight.net/msgid.cgi?ID=142705573800
http://fc00.deviantart.net/images3/i/2004/181/4/a/The_Lurking_Sock_Puppet.jpg

[American's FIRST!]

Fox News is Not for your kind ...little fem males who still nurse from their "mommies" ...better stick with that cable news channel that employes 4 homosexuals as on-air hosts or contributors.

[Tom Benton]

Just wondering...why does that bother you?
__________________________________________________


"It's just a flying saucer, Ed...We gotta go!"

Peggy Blumquist

[FPP]

Look up the phrase "America First"... it's quite an eye opener.

Racists haven't changed much throughout the years.
--
"Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie", until you can find a
rock." - Will Rogers

[NoBody]

On Tue, 12 Jul 2016 15:41:08 -0400, FPP <fred...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 2016-07-12 09:36:47 +0000, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> said:
>
>> Asked what the atmosphere at Fox News is like today, Smith answers:
>> "Business as usual."
>
>No kidding. Lying, stoking racial hatred, and harassing women old
>enough to be your daughter continues unabated. Fox is a shill for the
>Republican Party, and their "family values".
>
>It's what Fox News viewers have come to expect.

And of course FPP automatically believes the accusations because he
hates Fox News.

[mog...@hotmail.com]

6 More Women Allege That Roger Ailes Sexually Harassed Them
-------
Here are the women’s accounts:

Kellie Boyle, 54
Former Republican National Committee field adviser

This was back in 1989. I was 29 and living in New Jersey. My husband worked at CNBC and he said, "Roger Ailes is coming in to be interviewed — would you like to meet him?" I said yes! I’d worked in political communications for the Republican National Committee, so Roger Ailes was like a god. I’d read his book, You Are the Message, and I used it for a lot of training I did for candidates. I introduced myself in the green room, and he was very charming and said, "Would you like to visit my office downtown sometime?"

A week or two later I went in and mentioned to him I was going down to D.C. the following week to sign a major contract with the National Republican Congressional Committee. He said, "I’m going to be in D.C. too. Would you like to have dinner before you go in?" So we had a nice dinner at a restaurant in Union Station. There was nothing untoward about it at all. He had a driver and a car, and after dinner he said, "Can I take you to your friend’s?" So we get in the car and that’s when he said, "You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys." I was so taken aback. I said, "Gosh, I didn’t know that. How would that work?" I was trying to kill time because I didn’t know if he was going to attack me. I was just talking until I could get out of the car. He said, "That’s the way it works," and he started naming other women he’d had. He said that’s how all these men in media and politics work — everyone’s got their friend. I said, "Would I have to be friends with anybody else?" And he said, "Well, you might have to give a blow job every once in a while." I told him I was going to have to think about this. He said, "No, if you don’t do it now, you know that means you won’t."

The next morning I show up to get my assignment and was told the guy I was supposed to be meeting with was unavailable. Back in New Jersey, I got a call from Roger Ailes. He said, "How’d your meeting go?" I said, "Actually, he wasn’t available and I’m hoping to hear back from him." He said, "Ah, well, I’m sure you will. Have you changed your mind yet?" I said, "I’ll have to pass, Roger. I’m married and really committed to my husband. No offense." He said, "Well, we’ll be in touch." And that was that. A couple weeks later, I called a friend who was very high up in the RNC and I asked him what happened. He said, "Word went out you weren’t to be hired."

Marsha Callahan, 73
Former model

This was either ’68 or ’67. At the time he was producing The Mike Douglas Show, and I had a call from my modeling agency about the show. I got a call directly from Roger asking me to come down and to make sure I wore a garter belt and stockings. This was right after pantyhose came into use, and I said, "Why would you want me to do that instead of pantyhose?" He said, "If your legs look good in a garter belt, I’ll know you have great legs." So I go into his office and right away he says, "Sit on the sofa and lift your skirt up." I had to do these different poses. And then, I recall very clearly, he said he’d put me on the show but I needed to go to bed with him. I was a really shy girl, but I was a little cheeky, so I said, "Oh yeah, you and who else?" And he said, "Only me and a few of my select friends." I said, "Well, if you think I have star quality and you can make money off my looks, I don’t think it’d matter if I went to bed with you or not." And he said, "Oh, pretty girls like you are a dime a dozen." The interview ended quickly. I was called in to do the show and I remember passing Roger in the hallway. He pretended not to know who I was.

Susan,* 66
Former model

I was 16 years old, living in Radnor, Pennsylvania. I was sent over for a walk-on part on The Mike Douglas Show in the winter of 1967. It was 6:30 in the evening and the place was totally closing up. Ailes took me into this big office and locked the door with a key. He reclined on a couch in a seating area under a map that had flags of all the cities they were syndicated in. He proceeded to pull down his pants and very gingerly pull out his genitals and said, “Kiss them.” And they were red, like raw hamburger. He was pretty meticulously dressed, with long white shirttails coming out. It was like he was just at the end of a long day and I was supposed to know what to do. I was a kid — I’d never seen a man’s privates before. I jumped up, but the door was locked and nobody was out there. He chased me around the office, and at some point it dawned on him that this just wasn’t going to happen. He finally pulled up his trousers. He was very angry and rushed over to his desk, pulled open a door, and had a reel-to-reel tape recorder going. He said to me, "Don’t tell anybody about this. I’ve got it all on tape." I think he knew I was 16.

Jane,* 62
Former model/actress

It was around 1984; I was about 30. I had just arrived in New York. My agent was hoping to get me into broadcasting. I had an appointment with Ailes. He had a camera set up and a little desk and a script for me. It was a cooking kind of thing, talking about food and whatnot. After he taped me, he locked the door and said he didn’t want any interruptions. I figured out pretty quickly there was no job and this was just a ruse.

He pulled out a garter belt and stockings and told me to put them on. I was very nervous; I didn’t know what to do. He was standing there and I put them on. He wanted me to model them for him. After that, something sexual took place, but I blocked it out of my mind. I don’t know if I engaged with him orally or he engaged with himself. I felt I was being used for his sexual satisfaction. I felt very threatened. He wanted me to take the lingerie home for the next time. I said, "No, thank you, I don’t want to keep it for the next time." I left and I knew I’d never return. Through the years I felt like a horrible person because I allowed this to happen to me and I didn’t just say "fuck off" and walk out of the room. My husband doesn’t even know.


Diane,* 69
Media consultant

This is something I’ve carried with me and haven’t told anybody. I was just appalled to read about Gretchen’s story and see how [Ailes] is behaving after 50 years. This was so long ago. I was in college doing some modeling work with an agency in the Philadelphia area. This would have been late ’65 or early ’66; I would have been 18 or 19 years old. A bunch of us girls at the agency were called over to audition for him for some sort of skit on The Mike Douglas Show. He had a room, and one by one he would take us behind closed doors. When my turn came I went in, and he didn’t waste any time. He grabbed me and had his hands on me and he forced me to kiss him. When I recoiled he said, "Well, you know no girls get a job here unless they’re cooperative." I just pushed him away and ran out of there. He was like, whatever. So, no job for me. He did hire several of the girls from the group, but I don’t know what they had to do to get the job.

Pat,* 65
Former TV producer
It was 1975. I had a degree in mass communications. A college friend said, "Come to New York." I got an interview with Roger Ailes. I remember I met him not at some big TV office — it was at his apartment on Central Park South. I don’t remember his exact words, but his message was: If you want to make it in New York City in the TV business, you’re going to have to fuck me, and you’re going to do that with anyone I tell you to. I was afraid he was going to pin me down. He was a big guy and I’m not big at all. He could have overpowered me. I remember running out of that apartment like my hair was on fire and standing on the sidewalk crying, thinking, What’s that guy think I was, a prostitute? In one second, my dreams were shot. He’s going to blackball me everywhere, I’ll never get another interview, I’m not good enough — all that stuff a 20-something girl thinks. It wasn’t, That guy’s a son of a bitch and I should have kicked him in the balls.

*Pseudonyms.

Update: Roger Ailes's outside counsel, Barry Asen, has released the following statement regarding these new accounts:


It has become obvious that Ms. Carlson and her lawyer are desperately attempting to litigate this in the press because they have no legal case to argue. The latest allegations, all 30 to 50 years old, are false.


(article start)
Fox News host Gretchen Carlson may be the highest-profile woman to accuse Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, but she is not the first. In my 2014 biography of the Fox News chief, I included interviews with four women who told me Ailes had used his position of power to make either unwanted sexual advances or inappropriate sexual comments in the office.

And it appears Carlson won’t be the last, either. In recent days, more than a dozen women have contacted Carlson’s New Jersey–based attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, and made detailed allegations of sexual harassment by Ailes over a 25-year period, dating back to the 1960s, when he was a producer on The Mike Douglas Show. “These are women who have never told these stories until now,” Smith told me. “Some are in a lot of pain.” Taken together, these stories portray Ailes as a boss who spoke openly of expecting women to perform sexual favors in exchange for job opportunities. “He said that’s how all these men in media and politics work — everyone’s got their friend,” recalled Kellie Boyle, who says Ailes propositioned her in 1989, shortly after he helped George H.W. Bush become president by serving as his chief media strategist.

Six of the women agreed to speak with New York publicly for the first time. Two spoke on the record; the others requested anonymity for reasons that include shame and fear of retribution. “I didn’t tell my husband, it was so mortifying,” said Marsha Callahan, a former model who says Ailes harassed her in the late ’60s, shortly before he would become Richard Nixon’s media adviser.


Ailes is clearly trying to keep these stories out of the press and the courts. Late on Friday, his lawyers filed a motion in federal court in New Jersey seeking to move Carlson’s lawsuit to arbitration, which would prevent witnesses from being called in court. “Plaintiff’s ploy of filing in Superior Court to justify her shameless publicity campaign against Roger Ailes should not be countenanced,” Ailes’s lawyers argued. Carlson’s lawyers responded in a statement: "Roger Ailes is trying to force this case into a secret arbitration proceeding ... Gretchen never agreed to arbitrate anything with Mr. Ailes.”

Ailes’s spokesperson Irena Briganti did not respond to requests for comment. (Update: Ailes's outside council, Barry Asen, has now responded to the new allegations. His statement can be found at the bottom of this post.)

New York Magazine July 9, 2016 11:00 a.m.
6 More Women Allege That Roger Ailes Sexually Harassed Them
By Gabriel Sherman

-- http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/six-more-women-allege-ailes-sexual-harassment.html

[moviePig]

...than who?

--

- - - - - - - -
YOUR taste at work...
http://www.moviepig.com

[David Johnston]

On 7/15/2016 4:46 PM, moviePig wrote:
>
> ...than who?
>

Is anyone supposed to know what that means?

[RichA]

What was once flirtation, is now "harassment." But you can't retro-actively go back in time (unless you are a moron proggy) and and pronounce something as harassment then.

[trotsky]

On 7/15/16 8:06 PM, RichA wrote:

> What was once flirtation, is now "harassment."

Again, why the fuck would you think a comma belongs in that sentence?

[moviePig]

Maybe not. But I kept it short.

(These news anchors were more feminine than earlier ones.)

(Some news anchors defended Brian Williams, but Roger had more.)

[Obveeus]

On 7/16/2016 9:12 AM, moviePig wrote:
> On 7/15/2016 9:01 PM, David Johnston wrote:
>> On 7/15/2016 4:46 PM, moviePig wrote:
>>>
>>> ...than who?
>>>
>>
>> Is anyone supposed to know what that means?
>
> Maybe not. But I kept it short.
>
> (These news anchors were more feminine than earlier ones.)
>
> (Some news anchors defended Brian Williams, but Roger had more.)

Maybe it was because he tried to Bond with them?

[moviePig]

He called it 'rogering'...

[Obveeus]

On 7/16/2016 4:35 PM, moviePig wrote:
> On 7/16/2016 11:36 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>
>>
>> On 7/16/2016 9:12 AM, moviePig wrote:
>>> On 7/15/2016 9:01 PM, David Johnston wrote:
>>>> On 7/15/2016 4:46 PM, moviePig wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> ...than who?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Is anyone supposed to know what that means?
>>>
>>> Maybe not. But I kept it short.
>>>
>>> (These news anchors were more feminine than earlier ones.)
>>>
>>> (Some news anchors defended Brian Williams, but Roger had more.)
>>
>> Maybe it was because he tried to Bond with them?
>
> He called it 'rogering'...

Whatever Ailes him.

[anim8rfsk]

In article <nme69n$dov$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
wrote:

Remember that new movie a few weeks ago that had a gloriously nudely
nekkid Yvonne Strahotski? There was an evil old media mogul in that who
looked just like Ailes ...

--
Join your old RAT friends at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1688985234647266/

[Obveeus]

On 7/17/2016 3:27 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
> In article <nme69n$dov$1...@dont-email.me>, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On 7/16/2016 4:35 PM, moviePig wrote:
>>> On 7/16/2016 11:36 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 7/16/2016 9:12 AM, moviePig wrote:
>>>>> On 7/15/2016 9:01 PM, David Johnston wrote:
>>>>>> On 7/15/2016 4:46 PM, moviePig wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ...than who?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Is anyone supposed to know what that means?
>>>>>
>>>>> Maybe not. But I kept it short.
>>>>>
>>>>> (These news anchors were more feminine than earlier ones.)
>>>>>
>>>>> (Some news anchors defended Brian Williams, but Roger had more.)
>>>>
>>>> Maybe it was because he tried to Bond with them?
>>>
>>> He called it 'rogering'...
>>
>> Whatever Ailes him.
>
> Remember that new movie a few weeks ago that had a gloriously nudely
> nekkid Yvonne Strahotski?

MANHATTAN NIGHT.

>There was an evil old media mogul in that who
> looked just like Ailes ...

It's already in my queue (for reasons mentioned above). You don't have
to keep selling me on it.

[Adam H. Kerman]

anim8rfsk <anim...@cox.net> wrote:
>Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com> wrote:
>>On 7/16/2016 4:35 PM, moviePig wrote:
>>>On 7/16/2016 11:36 AM, Obveeus wrote:
>>>>On 7/16/2016 9:12 AM, moviePig wrote:
>>>>>On 7/15/2016 9:01 PM, David Johnston wrote:
>>>>>>On 7/15/2016 4:46 PM, moviePig wrote:

>>>>>>>...than who?

>>>>>>Is anyone supposed to know what that means?

>>>>>Maybe not. But I kept it short.

>>>>>(These news anchors were more feminine than earlier ones.)

>>>>>(Some news anchors defended Brian Williams, but Roger had more.)

>>>>Maybe it was because he tried to Bond with them?

>>>He called it 'rogering'...

>>Whatever Ailes him.

>Remember that new movie a few weeks ago that had a gloriously nudely
>nekkid Yvonne Strahotski? There was an evil old media mogul in that who
>looked just like Ailes ...

If she's doing a nude scene, do you mean to tell me that there are
other actors in that scene that you'd notice?

[anim8rfsk]

In article <nmg90q$mik$5...@news.albasani.net>,

He was in scenes where she wasn't naked. Unfortunately, he was also in
scenes were she WAS.

[Neill Massello]

Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> quoted:

> "I have never been instructed on the length of my skirt or the color
> of my lipstick," says Fox News anchor Sandra Smith.

So it's mere coincidence that they all look alike? Or is it that they
don't have to be told what a Fox Anchorbabe should look like?

> Combative and fiercely competitive, Ailes, 76, is known to have
> little patience for what he views as the out-of-control political
> correctness of today.

Fox News has its own orthodoxy, it's just not quite the same as the
MSM's party line. Political ideology aside, FN was a breath of fresh air
twenty years ago but has now gone stale. The only interesting thing
about it these days is watching them do the slow toady to Trump.

[bruce2...@gmail.com]

Murdoch and sons just threw Ailes out!

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/murdochs-have-decided-to-remove-roger-ailes.html