Ed Henry’s Accusers Say His Behavior Was an Open Secret at Fox News
When Fox News fired Ed Henry last month for alleged sexual misconduct, the network claimed it took “swift action”as soon as it learned about complaints made against him by former producer Jennifer Eckhart.
But according to Eckhart, her co-complainant Cathy Areu, and several current Fox News staffers—including one who also claims to have had an affair with the now-fired anchor—Henry’s reputation for such workplace misconduct was long an open secret inside the network. And there’s simply no way Fox brass had only become aware of the rising-star anchor’s behavior just this summer, the women all claimed.
The Daily Beast reviewed text conversations in which Henry repeatedly sent graphic sexual messages and images to colleagues, and spoke with several current Fox News staffers, including one who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Henry—all revealing just how widespread Henry’s alleged behavior was, despite Fox claiming to have only known about it from Eckhart’s complaint.
“No one complained to FOX News about Ed Henry sexually harassing them, including former employee Jennifer Eckhart and on air guest Cathy Areu, until the Wigdor firm became involved in late June and July 2020,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.
On July 20, Eckhart, a former Fox News associate producer, filed a joint lawsuit in New York federal court alleging that Henry raped and sexually harassed her. (She is represented by Wigdor LLP, the New York-based firm that has filed numerous harassment and discrimination suits against Fox News.) Joining her in the suit was Areu, a frequent Fox News guest, who alleged that Henry, along with primetime stars Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, and other Fox men, sexually harassed her.
“Ms. Eckhart was violently raped while helpless and restrained in metal handcuffs, as Mr. Henry performed sadistic acts on her without her consent that left her injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists,” the complaint read in part.
Fox held up its July 1 firing of Henry as an example of its reformed workplace culture—one that is now helmed by a woman CEO, Suzanne Scott, and supposedly no longer tolerates the culture of sexual harassment and intimidation that allegedly occurred under the late Roger Ailes’ regime.
But in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Eckhart suggested that her case shows otherwise. After she first complained about a toxic workplace environment to Fox News earlier this year, the network retaliated against her, she said. (Eckhart and I worked at Fox News around the same time, but our paths did not cross. I filed a gender and disability discrimination lawsuit in May 2017 against the network after working there for five years as an on-camera reporter. My complaint was settled in 2018 and I left the company.)
“In February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, I told Fox Human Resources I was working in a toxic environment; my concerns were ignored. Human resources never once followed up with me about my serious concerns. Instead, they showed me the exit door,” Eckhart recalled. “With respect to [CEO] Suzanne Scott, [Fox News President] Jay Wallace, [Fox Business President] Lauren Petterson, and other executives in leadership positions at Fox, they have not only fostered and cultivated sexually inappropriate behavior in the workplace, but the tone at the top has consistently accepted and rewarded it,” she continued, echoing allegations Eckhart made in the lawsuit. Fox told The Daily Beast in response that “this is a gross mischaracterization and is flat out wrong given how much Suzanne Scott and her leadership team has done to transform the entire culture post Ailes.”
Fox didn’t think I had the guts to file my lawsuit. My reaction to that was quite simple: Watch me.
— Jennifer Eckhart
Elsewhere in the suit, the ex-producer stated that on Feb. 10, 2020, she registered a complaint with Denise Collins, Fox News’ senior vice president of human resources, and her supervisor, Brad Hirst. Neither of them followed up with Eckhart, nor did they appear to do an investigation into her claims of a toxic workplace. Months later, on June 12, Fox News informed Eckhart that her employment would be terminated two weeks later. And so she moved to sue.
“I was retaliated against and informed my employment would be terminated effective June 26, 2020, after more than seven years of employment. On June 25, 2020, prior to the effective date of being terminated, I put Fox on notice that I had retained legal counsel and intended to bring claims in relation to Ed Henry’s misconduct,” Eckhart told The Daily Beast.
“Jennifer Eckhart never reported any sexual harassment or sexual misconduct to HR and did not reveal anything about Ed Henry until after she was terminated on June 12. She was given a warning in February and a performance improvement plan in early March prior to the June termination and neither of the two meetings she had with HR regarding her performance involved raising any sexual harassment or sexual misconduct complaints,” a Fox News spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “On the same day that FOX News received Ms. Eckhart’s complaint about Mr. Henry from her lawyer at Wigdor, we retained an outside law firm to independently investigate the matter. On the basis of those investigative findings, FOX News terminated Mr. Henry less than one week later.”
In response, Eckhart’s lawyer, Michael J. Willemin, partner at Wigdor LLP said in a statement: “Notably Fox News does not deny that Ms. Eckhart complained of a toxic work environment, and that the company took no effort to investigate or even ask for information related to that complaint. As alleged in the lawsuit, Fox News knew about Ed Henry for years and did nothing until it knew this lawsuit would be filed. That is, of course, the Fox News playbook—look the other way as victims pile up and then pretend to do the right thing. No one buys it.”
While the network publicly touted its “swift action” in firing Ed Henry, the 30-year-old Eckhart believes the conservative cable network fired him merely to salvage their public image while also effectively retaliating against her for having come forward.
“I believe that my abuser’s employment was terminated because Fox News realized that it was on the precipice of a public relations nightmare, and wanted to rid itself of accountability,” she explained, reiterating a prominent contention of the legal complaint. “Fox’s response to my lawsuit and my abuser’s termination is a textbook example of why many victims of sexual assault unfortunately choose to remain silent. Fox News intentionally downplayed the severity of what happened to me in a public statement by grossly mischaracterizing Ed Henry’s actions as merely ‘sexual misconduct,’ which is an utter slap in the face to every survivor of rape and sexual assault. Fox continues to avoid taking any accountability for permitting and encouraging this type of behavior.”
According to Eckhart, Fox News consistently rewarded Henry—once considered a rising star at the network—with prominent hosting gigs, even though his alleged licentiousness and inappropriate workplace conduct were, she said, “well-known” within the building.
Several current Fox News employees agree that Henry’s reputation was well-known at Fox HQ long before the network gave him the boot. One staffer, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation from her Fox bosses, recalled how she was repeatedly warned about Henry’s behavior before she engaged in a sexual relationship with him beginning in November 2016 and ending March 2020.
“I think Fox News was aware of his behavior. His reputation was mixed. While some saw him as friendly and jovial, others believed he could be unpleasant and harsh-natured in the workplace. It was well-known he flirted with younger women in the office. I heard people say, in general, to be careful with him because of his flirtatious nature,” the staffer explained. “I am unaware of other women who warned upper management about Mr. Henry but I have heard stories of women to whom he sent suggestive messages.”
Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!
Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
