Former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros previously shared allegations against former network chief Roger Ailes with New York Magazine, but now she has filed a lawsuit against Fox and Ailes.
I believe every word Tantaros says about Fox and Ailes, but this leaves me with more questions than answers.
"Fox News masquerades as defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency, and misogyny," according to her lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court in New York County.
I have conflicting feelings about this because Tantaros herself perpetuated this culture on the air at Fox. Tantaros blamed women for their own assaults and harassment on the air many times during her tenure at the network. I have no doubt that Fox News is a playboy cult behind the scenes, but it's also a playboy cult live on the air.
It's not as if the "family values" Fox preaches on air are contradicted by what goes on behind the scenes. They're one and the same. Sexual harassment is not even considered to be a real thing at Fox. The unofficial position of Fox News is that boys will be boys and women are all stupid sluts. These are the "family values" of the entire conservative movement, not just Fox News. If you want real family values, not the fake kind, you might want to consider becoming a Democrat.
But as they say, there are no perfect victims. I believe Tantaros's allegations and I hope she wins her battle in court. I also hope she has learned a thing or two about scolding other women who've been harassed or assaulted.
"Social justice," as it were, is roundly mocked at Fox and every other conservative outlet, but the fight against his kind of fratboy behavior is the essence of social justice. Unless you're a straight, white, Christian man, rooting against social justice often means rooting against yourself.
You can read the full complaint filed by Tanaros here, which includes highlights such as Roger Ailes telling Tantaros she would look great in a bikini and Ailes referring to fellow Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle as a "Puerto Rican whore."
Tantaros Complaint by Judd Legum on Scribd