New York-based professional services PR firm Ripp Media has been hired to represent former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who has filed a high-profile sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.
The complaint, which was filed July 6 in Bergen County, New Jersey, alleges that Carlson, a longtime Fox News commentator and former “Fox & Friends” co-host, was the victim of ongoing discriminatory treatment before ultimately being fired from the network on June 23.
 Gretchen Carlson |
Carlson had spoken with management as far back as 2009 regarding a “hostile” environment characterized by “severe and pervasive sexual harassment,” according to the complaint, particularly involving encounters with "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy. After hearing the complains, the suit alleges that Ailes referred to Carlson as a “man hater” who needed to learn how to “get along with the boys.”
The complaint also alleges that Ailes, 76, sought a sexual relationship with Carlson, and frequently made inappropriate comments, often commenting on Carlson's figure and attire. The complaint alleges that Ailes exhibited “harassing, discriminatory and retaliatory treatment” toward Carlson, assigning her fewer political interviews, reducing her appearances during prime-time slots, removing her from regular weekly appearances on “The O’Reilly Factor” and later reassigning her show’s time slot.
During a September 2015 meeting, the complaint alleges that Ailes told Carlson that “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.” After rebuffing his advances, the complaint alleges that Ailes ultimately retaliated against Carlson by terminating her without prior notice on June 23, the day her contract was set to expire.
Carlson is now seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by litigator Nancy Erika Smith, a lawyer at Montclair, NJ-based law firm Smith Mullin, which specializes in labor and employment litigation. Martin Hyman of Manhattan firm Golenbock Eiseman is serving as co-counsel.
Carlson, who was crowned Miss America in 1988, joined Fox in 2005. She co-hosted “Fox & Friends” until 2013, when she became host of “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson.” According to ratings by Nielsen, “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” boasted the highest ratings in its time slot in the months leading up to Carlson’s termination.
 Roger Ailes |
Fox News has launched an internal review into the matter. Ailes, in what has so far been Fox’s only coverage of the suit, called the complaint’s charges “false” and “offensive,” and said Carlson “conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit” as retaliation because “Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract.”
Coverage of the suit has been massive, earning headlines in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Fortune, Daily Beast, Associated Press, ABC, NBC, CBS, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, USA Today and others.
While not mentioning Ripp Media by name in its reporting, The New York Times yesterday referred to the lawsuit’s announcement as “carefully coordinated,” and noted how the PR salvo behind the suit “distributed copies of the complaint to reporters across a variety of disciplines.”
In what may be an expression of solidarity, News Corp. daily paper The New York Post ran nothing about the lawsuit in today’s edition. Fox News is owned by Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of multinational media corporation 21st Century Fox, which was formed after the 2013 split of News Corporation’s media and publishing assets.
Ripp Media principal Allan Ripp told O’Dwyer’s that conveying the facts of the suit was the firm’s first priority. According Ripp, Carlson’s suit had been in the works “for a long time,” though no one in the media had yet reported that Carlson had been terminated, so the firm didn’t want to be behind the curve in reporting on the termination, which was "the kind of news that could have leaked out and gone the way of a tabloid, page six story."
“We wanted to make sure the facts of the lawsuit, Gretchen’s statements and the allegations, which were extremely serious, were widely reported,” Ripp told O’Dwyer’s. “And we wanted to make sure we had the first hand in announcing her termination to the national, mainstream news media so that we weren’t merely reacting to the termination.”
Ripp Media, which was founded in 1989, specializes in legal and government affairs, litigation press and professional and financial services. Clients include law and real estate firms, as well as financial services and wealth management companies.
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