Fox News hit with lawsuit accusing Ed Henry of rape and Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson of sexual harassment

The Daily Beast

In the lawsuit filed this afternoon in New York federal court, former Fox News producer Jennifer Eckhart alleged that Henry, who was fired on July 1, raped and assaulted her and “performed sadistic acts on her without her consent that left her injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists.” The lawsuit also was filed by frequent Fox News guest Cathy Areu, who alleged that in early 2020, Henry sent her “a slew of wildly inappropriate sexual images and messages—which are in her possession," as well as several sexually graphic videos. The lawsuit alleges that Areu was “also subjected to inappropriate sexual harassment and retaliation” by on-air Fox News personalities Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Howard Kurtz, as well as Fox News contributor Gianno Caldwell. Areu said in a statement: “Like Ms. Eckhart I was too fearful to come forward. However, I simply could not stay silent given the tremendous harm that Mr. Henry and others at Fox News have caused for women affiliated with the company. I chose to file this complaint because no woman should have to suffer the conduct to which I was subjected, much less the egregious conduct suffered by Ms. Eckhart.” In a statement, Fox News said: “Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areu’s claims against FOX News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity & Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit. We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed—in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations.”