Fox News has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with contributor Britt McHenry. The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by McHenry’s legal team Monday and she will leave Fox News.
McHenry’s lawsuit, originally filed in 2019, alleged that her “Un-PC” co-host, George “Tyrus” Murdoch, harassed her. The lawsuit cited inappropriate behavior on Murdoch’s part, including sexually charged text messages that he used to threaten her if she kept “being negative.”
In the 2019 suit McHenry sued Murdoch, Fox News, parent company Fox Corp. and three network executives — Jennifer Rauchet, John Finley and Monica Mekeel — after she said the network failed to adequately respond to her accusations of sexual harassment against Murdoch and then retaliated against her for coming forward.
“I am very proud to have to stood up for my rights and hope that I have empowered other women to do the same,” McHenry said in a statement to TheWrap. “Although I fully stand by the truth of my allegations, I am pleased to put this matter behind me and move forward with my career.”
“While Fox News is confident it would have prevailed in the lawsuit, we are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation,” Fox News said in a statement.
McHenry and Fox News filed a stipulation dismissal of the case in federal court Monday.
While McHenry said her claims were met with retaliation and company executives sidelined her career, Murdoch continued appearing on regular programming, such as shows hosted by Fox News stars Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino.
The case was at a halt until U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer pushed the lawsuit against both Fox News and Murdoch forward, while dismissing claims against Fox News’ parent company and two of the executives, Finley and Mekeel.
In his ruling, Engelmayer ruled that Murdoch’s “communications [to McHenry], as pled, are readily construed to reflect sexual advances and propositions, albeit unusually crude and clumsy ones, towards her.”
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