Months after Roger Ailes left Fox News Channel under a cloud of accusations of sexual harassment, the cable newser is still dealing with matters of a similar nature. The New York Times reports tonight that former on-air contributor Tamara Holder recently reached a settlement with the net worth more than $2.5 million.
The arrangement is based on Holder’s claims that she was sexually assaulted by an executive at the company’s NYC headquarters two years ago. That executive in question was not Ailes but VP Fox News Latino Francisco Cortes, who has since been terminated.
“In September 2016 Fox News contributor Tamara Holder reported an incident of sexual assault at Fox News headquarters from the prior year,” FNC and Holder said late Wednesday in a joint statement provided to Deadline. “Immediately after Ms. Holder notified Fox News of the alleged incident, the Company promptly investigated the matter and took decisive action, for which Ms. Holder thanks the network,” the statement added. “Following the completion of her contract on January 1, 2017, Ms. Holder left the network. Fox News is grateful to Ms. Holder for her many contributions during her tenure at the network and wishes her continued success.”
Since the much accused Ailes departed Fox News last July with a $40 million exit check, 21st Century Fox reached financial agreements with several women such as former Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson and others who made several sexual harassment complaints. A number of those individuals spoke of a culture and tone that permeated the organization.
Holder’s settlement is another win for women, as she tells NYT that she was “told by agents and lawyers that if I opened up, I would forever be ‘toxic’ and my career would be over.
“I worked hard and loved my job but I could not be speechless. I had to turn my fear into courage,” she said, adding that she was offered severance but rejected the offer.
While she is not permitted to discuss the settlement or Fox News any further she did say: “Moving forward, I hope that my ‘toxicity’ has transformed into authenticity and that my career is not over. I hope that every man, woman, and child who has been sexually assaulted, or a victim of any crime for that matter, comes to the realization that they have not done anything wrong; they are not toxic.”
