This morning, 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, announced a settlement with Gretchen Carlson, who accused former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment.
The settlement is for a reported $20 million.
In addition to cash, the settlement came with a public apology from Fox News, effectively validating her claims of harassment by Ailes.
We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve.
Before this settlement, Ailes rallied Fox News employees to come to his defense and smear Carlson as presenting a fabricated story. Many prominent Fox News personalities participated. But none with as much gusto as Sean Hannity.
Brian talk to the hundreds of woman at Fox that I talked to this week both on air and off. They say it all BS https://t.co/L7JECOMMPD
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) July 9, 2016
That's speculation U r an Ailes and Fox stalker Woman who say Ailes is innocent are dismissed, 1960's smears U trust https://t.co/r2UpUz8yX3
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) July 13, 2016
Hadas I have spoken to many woman who work at Fox that have the most amazing stories of how kind Roger is to them https://t.co/sxKGuLp6lF
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) July 9, 2016
So the anonymous corporate voice of 21st Century Fox has issued an apology to Gretchen Carlson. But if Fox News is truly a place that treats people with “respect and dignity” shouldn’t Sean Hannity, one of the network’s most visible stars, also apologize? After all, he did effectively tell his 1.5 million Twitter followers that Carlson was a liar.
Whether Hannity is pressured to apologize depends on the outlook of Fox News. Is Fox truly interested in changing its corporate culture?
It’s hard to square the notion of a workplace that truly has no tolerance for sexual harassment with one that tolerates the public shaming of a woman who complains of sexual harassment.
Alternatively, Fox News is just trying to sweep this embarrassing incident under the rug quickly so they can resume making money. Vanity Fair, citing network sources, reports this might be what is happening:
While the Paul, Weiss investigation interviewed more than 20 women, according to two sources familiar with the process, it never officially expanded to examine the broader culture of Fox News. The firm, according to numerous people familiar with the process, was apparently never ordered to scour the company’s hard drives for all evidence of sexual harassment or bawdy culture. In some ways, according to one person familiar with the process, the Paul, Weiss investigation simply got a revenue machine back on track.
Time will tell.