21st Century Fox paid off a woman who accused former top executive David Hill of sexual misconduct while he ran Fox Sports, two individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap.
The payment happened in 1998, and suggests Fox had issues with sexual harassment long before the investigations that led to the exits of Fox News star Bill O’Reilly and founder Roger Ailes, and the ouster of Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz last month.
The payment came when Hill was chairman of Fox Sports. Hill, part of Fox chief Rupert Murdoch’s inner circle, was promoted to chairman of Fox Sports Media Group the following year, and had a 24-year career with the company that ended in 2015.
“That’s the earliest recorded Fox case I’ve heard about,” attorney Lisa Bloom, who has filed several sexual harassment suits against Fox, said of the 1998 case. “If they’d cleaned house then, or simply monitored their staff to require compliance with the law, so many women could have been spared.
The woman, Paula Radin, was a vice president for special events at Fox Broadcasting Company for seven years. She complained about sexually aggressive behavior by Hill and accepted a settlement in exchange for not pursuing a lawsuit, the individuals said. Radin left the company in 1998.
From Left: Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman and David Hill attend the 2017 G’Day Gala
Hill and Radin did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Fox declined to comment. O’Reilly and Horowitz have denied any wrongdoing, as did Ailes before his death this year.
But Bloom said Fox has taken a permissive approach that allowed misconduct to continue for years.
“It’s a culture that started at the top, it’s a toxic culture,” she said. “Unfortunately there are still remnants of it, and we’re still hearing constant complaints.”
A former executive said Murdoch cast a blind eye.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog culture, at Fox in particular. There’s a lack of sensitivity that emanates from the very top,” said the former executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If Rupert provided you air cover, as he did in the in case of Roger Ailes, or his Aussie homies, there was a way in which these guys felt like they could pretty much get away with anything. And for a long time they did.”
The Australian-born Hill stepped down in 2015 to open a Fox-backed production company called Hilly Inc. He also co-produced the 2016 Academy Awards.
The Hill settlement was “substantial and there was some kind of day of reckoning,” said the former executive at Fox, describing Hill “crying, hysterical, in apologizing to her.”
The encounter that sparked the complaint occurred in a limousine and involved unwanted touching, the insider added.
Less than two weeks ago, Horowitz was abruptly ousted as president of Fox Sports, a position he had held since 2015, amidst an investigation over sexual harassment charges. The executive vehemently denied any misconduct through his lawyer, who said the network’s abrupt decision to dismiss him was “appalling.”
In early July, the Fox Business Network suspended “Making Money” anchor Charles Payne amid an investigation into sexual harassment. He also denied any wrongdoing.
Hilly productions is currently involved in a venture with eSports company ESL, integrating his entertainment production experience into their gaming product.
Fox last year vowed to change its culture, taking measures like emergency refresher courses in sensitivity training for the news division — something the channel’s head of human resources called “critical” to maintaining the workplace.
Timeline of Fox Sexual Harassment and Other Scandals, From Roger Ailes to Bill O'Reilly (Photos)
The sudden ousting of Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz and the suspension of Fox Business Host Charles Payne this week are the latest signs of a sea shift in the Murdoch-run entertainment giant in its response to allegations of sexual harassment and other questionable behavior by executives and on-air talent.
Various
July 6, 2016: Gretchen Carlson files lawsuit against Roger Ailes Former “Fox & Friends” anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, who denied her claims.
Fox and Friends
July 9, 2016: Six other women claim Ailes harassed them Former Republican National Committee field adviser Kellie Boyle and model Marsha Callahan were among the six women who accused Ailes of previous harassment. Ailes denied the claims.
Getty Images
July 19, 2016: Megyn Kelly says she was sexually harassed by Ailes Amid an external law firm’s investigation into the multiple claims against Ailes, then primetime host Megyn Kelly told investigators that she had been harassed by Ailes years ago. Kelly wrote in her memoir about talking to investigators about the allegations.
Fox News
July 21, 2016: Ailes resigns Fox News announced that Ailes had resigned as network chairman after two decades of dominating cable news, walking away with a $40 million severance package.
Getty Images
Jan. 10, 2017: Bill O’Reilly settlement comes to light News surfaced that the “O’Reilly Factor” host had previously settled with Juliet Huddy, a Fox News employee who claimed he tried to derail her career after she rebuffed his romantic advances.
Getty Images
March 8, 2017: Fox News settles with Tamara N. Holder Fox News paid former on-air contributor Tamara N. Holder more than $2.5 million following allegations that Fox News Latino vice president Francisco Cortes tried to coerce her into performing oral sex on him.
Fox News Latino
March 24, 2017: Fox News comptroller Judy Slater sacked Fox News has fired longtime comptroller Judy Slater after an internal investigation concluded she had engaged in a pattern of racist comments and behavior; several of the employees later filed lawsuits against the network over the incidents.
Fox News
April 1, 2017: Claims against O’Reilly settled for $13 million A New York Times investigation found that O’Reilly and Fox News had paid $13 million in total to five women who had worked or appeared on “O’Reilly Factor” over the years and made claims of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior.
Fox News
April 3, 2017: Another lawsuit against Ailes and Fox News Fox News contributor Julie Roginsky filed a lawsuit accusing Ailes of sexually harassing her. She also alleged that Fox News co-president Bill Shine retaliated against her for making the claims. Ailes denied the allegations, and Shine declined to comment.
Getty Images
April 19, 2017: Fox News cuts ties with O’Reilly Fox News announced that O’Reilly would not return to the network following its external investigation into claims of sexual harassment.
Twitter
April 21, 2017: Debbie Schlussel claims Sean Hannity invited her to his hotel Former Fox News guest Debbie Schlussel claimed that primetime host Sean Hannity had once invited her back to his hotel after an event they attended, and that she was never invited back to Hannity's show after she rebuffed his advances. The host denied the claims. Schlussel later clarified that she did not consider the encounter to constitute sexual harassment. "I thought he was weird and creepy," she told LawNewz.
Getty Images
April 24, 2017: Andrea Tarantos files her own lawsuit Andrea Tantaros, a former host of the Fox show “The Five,” filed a new lawsuit against Ailes, Shine and other network executives, claiming that an extensive online harassment campaign had been waged against her. Fox News sought arbitration and called Tantaros “not a victim” but “an opportunist.”
Various
May 1, 2017: Bill Shine resigns Following Roginsky and Tarantos’ lawsuits, Fox News announced that Shine was exiting the network.
Getty Images
May 19, 2017: Bob Beckel fired at Fox News Fox News fired “The Five” co-host Bob Beckel after he was accused of making an insensitive remark to an African-American employee. Fox News human resources took less than 48 hours to investigate the incident and recommend dismissal, a network executive told TheWrap.
Fox News
June 19, 2017: Investigation by the state of New York The New York State Division on Human Rights launched an investigation into Fox News, over her sexual harassment claims by former “O’Reilly Factor” guest commentator Wendy Walsh against O’Reilly, Walsh’s attorney Lisa Bloom said. O’Reilly has denied Walsh’s claims.
Fox News
July 3, 2017: Fox Sports fires Jamie Horowtiz Jamie Horowitz was abruptly ousted from his position as president of Fox Sports National Networks amid allegations of sexual harassment against Horowitz, an individual familiar with the matter told the New York Times. Horowitz’s attorney denied any misconduct.
Getty Images
July 6, 2017: Fox Business suspends Charles Payne Charles Payne, the host of Fox Business’ “Making Money,” was suspended by the network due to an investigation over a three-year relationship with a married political analyst who appeared as a guest on Fox Business and Fox News, the Los Angeles Times reported. Payne denied allegations of sexual harassment, calling them an “ugly lie.”
Fox
1 of 18
Here’s everything you need to know about accusations that the company has faced so far
The sudden ousting of Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz and the suspension of Fox Business Host Charles Payne this week are the latest signs of a sea shift in the Murdoch-run entertainment giant in its response to allegations of sexual harassment and other questionable behavior by executives and on-air talent.