Respond to Tantaros lawsuit

Fox News, Roger Ailes respond to Tantaros lawsuit

By Hadas Gold

In a motion filed on Monday, Fox News is arguing that former Fox host Andrea Tantaros' lawsuit naming the company and some of its key executives should be moved to arbitration, calling Tantaros an “opportunist” and “wannabe."

Tantaros' suit, filed last week, alleges that Fox News is a “sex-fueled, Playboy mansion–like cult” where she was harassed by former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, host Bill O’Reilly and several on-air contributors. She also accuses other Fox executives of trying to intimidate her, and alleges that the Fox News public relations department waged a covert publicity war against her.

Fox News said the motion is made only on behalf of the network, co-President Bill Shine, general counsel Diane Brandi, head of media relations Irena Briganti, and Executive Vice President for Programming & Development Suzanne Scott; it is not offered on behalf of Ailes. Ailes attorneys, shortly afterward, filed a similar motion of their own.

In the motion, the network calls Tantaros’ claims “unverified” and argues they bear “all the hallmarks of the 'wannabe.’” They argue that the complaint should be moved to arbitration, according to her contract.

The network previously argued much the same thing in the case of Gretchen Carlson, whose suit against Ailes set in motion his departure from the network. Arbitration proceedings can be kept secret.

"Over the last few weeks, 21st Century Fox (Fox News' parent company) has made clear its commitment to providing a safe and dignified workplace at Fox News: by immediately launching an investigation in which women were encouraged to report their experiences under conditions of confidentiality, and by committing to make things right with those women who were not treated with the respect that they and every employee deserve. But Tantaros is not a victim; she is an opportunist,” the document states, referring to the investigation undertaken after several women came forward complaining of harassment by Ailes.

Fox reiterated an earlier publicly-taken position: that Tantaros contract was suspended as a result of her book, “Tied Up In Knots,” for which Fox News said Tantaros did not follow approval procedure. (Her lawyer, Judd Burstein, previously told POLITICO “there were no material violations.")

The network also said it fully investigated Tantaros complaints, but before the Ailes news broke, it never mentioned him. Fox executives interviewed 13 people related to Tantaros’ complaints and that “none of the persons interviewed support any of Tantaros’s claims” and that when they did interview Tantaros she had "great difficulty describing the alleged sexual harassment."

"Tantaros's allegations about sexual harassment are a smokescreen to obscure her violation of her employment contract,” Fox News said in the response.

In the motion, Fox accused Tantaros of adding Ailes to the complaint–he hadn't been named in the original suit–only after all the publicity that surrounded Carlson's suit. After the Ailes complaints, Fox said lawyers Tantaros’ lawyers reached out to Paul Weiss, the firm investigating complaints about Ailes for 21st Century Fox. But when the call was returned, Tantaros’ lawyer never responded, Fox News said.

"It does not appear that Tantaros had any interest in answering the questions that she had left unanswered during her interview,” the motion reads, in part.

Earlier on Monday, Tantaros’s lawyer Judd Burstein challenged Fox News executives to a lie detector test, saying that Tantaros would participate as well. In response to Fox News' motion, Burstein said that he is confident they will prevail and keep the case out of arbitration and that the claim that Tantaros' counsel did not respond to a phone call from the Paul Weiss investigators is false. Burstein also alleges that "Fox News all but acknowledged that Roger Ailes did sexually harass Andrea Tantaros" because their lawyers are not defending him.

"Instead, they have dropped him like the proverbial hot potato in the hope that his former cabal members can continue in place," Burstein wrote.

In his separate motion filed on Monday, Ailes also asked that Tantaros' suit be moved to arbitration. Using similar arguments to those of his former employer, Ailes' lawyers also pointed out that Tantaros has even recently publicly complimented Ailes.

"Although Mr. Ailes files this motion separately to make clear his position with respect to Ms. Tantaros’s many false allegations about him, he seeks the same relief that all other Defendants (the 'Fox News Defendants') are seeking in their concurrently filed motion to compel arbitration," the motion states.

Tantaros claimed in her suit that Ailes made her “twirl” and made comments about her body, including that he bets she looks "good in a bikini." In their motion, lawyers for Ailes said Tantaros is twisting words, and that television is a "visual medium" so the comments were not out of place.

"If any defendants ever commented on how Ms. Tantaros looked, it likely was because Ms. Tantaros plastered pictures of herself in a bikini all over the internet (actually nearly nude), and many people at Fox News were shocked and perplexed by this; there was certainly talk," the motion reads, in part.