Fox "News" Hosts Hit With Rape And Sexual Misconduct Complaint

There may be more extended "vacations" announced at Fox "News":

Fox News has been hit with a kitchen sink suit, replete with trigger warning, as a complaint was filed on Monday in New York federal court alleging sexual misconduct by some of its top hosts including Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson.

Jennifer Eckhart, a former associate producer on Fox Business Network, is a co-plaintiff in the suit. The most serious claim pertains to Eckhart's allegation that she was raped by former White House chief correspondent Ed Henry, who earlier this month was fired by Fox News as a result of the charge. [snip]

Cathy Areu is the other co-plaintiff in this case, which also asserts Fox News subjected women to a hostile workplace.

Once an on-air regular on Fox News, Areu says she was victimized by Henry through a "slew of wildly inappropriate sexual images and messages." The complaint details the contents of these messages.

Additionally, Areu targets several of Fox News' other stars. She alleges that Hannity once threw $100 on the desk of his set and called for the men around to take her on a date for drinks. She says that Carlson once probed to see whether she'd be interested in a sexual relationship. She accuses Howard Kurtz of inviting her to a hotel room. After allegedly spurning advances or enduring comments, Areu says she stopped being invited to appear on each of their respective programs. The three Fox News hosts are co-defendants in the suit and face claims of retaliation.

The full complaint is at the link above.

For years, any sentient person could see Hannity and Carlson were smarmy, toxic personalities in more ways than one.  Hopefully, women aren't letting them get away with their behavior anymore, and Fox won't be able to pay for their silence as they once did.

Reactions:

Two former Fox employees have filed a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Ed Henry, and others.

The lying and misogyny are "Fair & Balanced" across the whole network!

— Brian O'Sullivan (@osullivanauthor) July 21, 2020

The details in this lawsuit, which accuses Ed Henry of brutally raping former Fox News employee Jennifer Eckhart, are extremely brutal and horrific.

The text messages included in the suit are really jawdropping.https://t.co/ixharnUKRJ

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 20, 2020

 

You have reached the Fox News Sexual Assault Hotline.

If you were assaulted by Sean Hannity, press 1.

If you were assaulted by Tucker Carlson, press 2.

If you were assaulted by Ed Henry, press 3.

Otherwise, stay on the line for the operator and tell them who assaulted you.

— Middle Age Riot (@middleageriot) July 20, 2020

 

Fox News was run by Roger Ailes, employed Bill O’Reilly, and literally doesn’t allow women to wear pants, so I’m not sure how anyone is surprised that other men who work there are sexual predators.

— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) July 21, 2020

 

Who's A Tool?

In one of his final "Daily Show" episodes, Jon Stewart responds to a recent Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz segment on Fox "News" in which he and the Baltimore Sun's David "Cue Ball" Zurawik tried to make the case (without evidence, of course) that Stewart was a "tool" of the Obama Administration.  See what Stewart does to show who the real tools are:

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The Acorn the Ombudsman Never Finds

The Kaplan Daily's "Ombudsman" Andrew "O" Alexander's column today is all about reporters' conflicts of interest. One is Juliet Eilperin, who covers climate change and is married to a "liberal activist" at the Center for American Progress. Verdict from the O?

"It's a close call, but I think she should stay on the beat. With her work now getting special scrutiny, it will become clear if the conflict is real." (my emphasis)

The other reporter? None other than Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz. Is Kurtz's marital connection to Rethug consultant and commentator Sheri Annis even mentioned? Uh, no. Is Howie getting "special scrutiny" from his Kaplan editors? Uh, no. Is Howie getting a free pass, and is this another example of Kaplan's separate rules for progressives and right-wingers? Uh, yes and yes.

(Image: Don't adjust your screens - Howie the acorn exists in a separate, alternate universe.)

Lessons in Journalistic Integrity from the WaPo

We're leaving it to Wonkette today to give us the latest evidence, in two parts, that the Washington Post is an ethics-free zone.

Exhibit A: Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz' expose on black female journalists covering Michelle Obama. Question to Howie: Does your marriage to Republican consultant Sherri Annis disqualify you from writing pieces like this or anything else about the media and politics?

Exhibit B: Via the acorn-averse squirrels at Politico, Wonkette has this take on the WaPo's side business of selling "access" to deep-pocketed CEOs. You heard right. So, the next time you see an editorial from the likes of Fred "Buy It" Hiatt about the influence peddlers in Washington, just remember that his outfit is right there in the scrum with the scum.

(Photo: Post ombudsman "Clouseau" Alexander looking for evidence of journalistic integrity at the WaPo)

Kurtz on The Fox (Abomi)Nation

WaPo's Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz has an uncritical look at Fux's latest attempt to be relevant: "Fox Nation," its "opinionated" new web site. Opinionated? Tell us more, Howie... we're waiting... still waiting...

Well, wait all you want, but Howie (aka "Mr. Sherri Annis," Rethug strategist) doesn't want to cast any aspersions on the new web site's predictable wingnut cast (Manatee, Beck, O'Really?, Rove, etc.) and how it squares with the web site's slogan: "It's Time to Say NO to Biased Media and Say YES to Fair Play and Free Speech." Hahahahahahaha. Oh, now we get it: it's going to be a comedy web site!

Howie also wants us to know how successful Fux has been since it went anti-Obama 24/7 (it wasn't that way already??). Howie, whose columns should always be accompanied by the warning, "Reprinted by permission of the Republican National Committee, Tin Man Steele, Chairman Y'all," would be dropping all sorts of adjectives/ "pejoratives" ("far-left", "ultra liberal", etc.) if, say, MSNBC were launching a new venture. What we may never know for sure is whether Howie is performing thusly out of conviction, or whether he's afraid his wife won't grant him quarterly sex if he doesn't toe the party line.

(Photo: Howie, whose world remains upside down since the November election)

Howie Do It

Poor Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz, WaPo and CNN media "critic." Seems Howie (married to a Rethug political consultant, a fact he never fails to omit) is all a-tizzy that the "librul" media is getting too ga-ga over Obama. In a recent article, snatched from RNC talking points (or perhaps Grover Norquist's - wait, same thing), Howie "Get That Job?" asks:

"At what point does the recognition of Obama's gifts and this juncture in history spill over into partisan adulation?"

(Our reply would be: Where did you learn to write such graceful prose, at an RNC workshop for hack "reporters"?) We're sure Howie will keep his finger on the pulse of the media and report every instance of "partisan" behavior, seeing as how he already has an occasional "Obama Adulation Watch" feature in his rat's ass column. Keep up the good work, Howie! Say hi to your wife!

(Photo: Howie's world turned upside down after the election)

Kurtz Wanker Watch

WaPo/CNN media "critic" Howie "Get That Job?" Kurtz has a new feature in his newspaper column "Media Notes." Howie calls it "Obama Adulation Watch," as it's intended to show how over- the- top the media are for Obama. Now why would a straight- shooter like Howie want to do that?

Well, what Howie has always failed to disclose is that his misspelled- but- appropriately- named wife, Sheri Annis, is a Republican commentator and strategist. And Howie, along with fellow right-wing water carrier Asshat Halperin, is wasting no time in trying to blunt the effect of Obama's landslide. Minimize it. Delegitimatize it. Whatever he can do to help his ideological brethren. So, look for Howie in the weeks and months ahead to use his column to reinforce post-election Rethug memes (the "librul media" won it for Obama, we're a center-right nation, Obama is just a "celebrity", where's the change?, etc., etc.).

So, henceforth, we'll be running a "Kurtz Wanker Watch" to keep tabs on the fella as he does his best (in his own small, and ultimately futile, way) to undermine the Obama administration.

(Photo: For post-election Howie, the "world turned upside down.")

"Go Fox Yourself!"

In this morning's WaPo, Wanker Extraordinaire Howie "Wowie" Kurtz (who is married to Rethug consultant Sheri Annis* -- what a surprise!) has a huge wet kiss for Faux News anchorette Megyn Kelly. Howie waxes on for about 4 columns about Kelly, portraying her as a budding anchor superstar. Here's a sampling of what Howie thinks is evidence of Kelly's anchor superstardomness:

"On this particular morning [the senior producer] tells Kelly that she may need to do an unexpected interview with Sen. Charles Schumer on the economy. During a break, Kelly e-mails a couple of financial analysts for suggested questions. But, she says, 'I generally try not to know too much about complex financial news, because then you try to conduct an expert interview. Our viewers aren't experts.'"

First, on that last sentence: no shit, Sherlock. Second, why would you want to have knowledge get in the way of your interviews when uninformed opinion will do just fine?!

Better yet, just check out The Daily Show's John Oliver's Fox smackdown, featuring Ms. Kelly and many of Faux's "news" trolls. It is wonderful beyond further description, and a far more "fair and balanced" view of Faux News than you'll ever get from Howie.

(* - As a professional team, they would be known as "Anus and Annis.")