In light of Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit alleging Fox CEO Roger Ailes fired her after she refused his sexual advances—propositions that reportedly included his request for her to turn around so he could “view her posterior”—the folks at Bloomberg have produced a low-lights reel capturing a few of the times her Fox & Friends co-hosts made provocative comments and objectified her on the air.
The clips begin with Carlson’s colleagues making seemingly innocuous compliments about her appearance; they often call her “beautiful.” But then things degenerate to more disturbing sexual innuendos about her wearing short skirts and “waxing” on television. Every once in a while, Carlson appears to call out her co-hosts for their apparently sexist attitudes.
“HR is on the phone because you called me a skirt,” she says at one point, with an awkward smile.
In another scene, Brian Kilmeade jokes about a guest: “He was the only sexist person who came on here who made you laugh.” Carlson retorts: “Other than sitting next to you every day.”
Both the video and Carlson’s complaint paint a disturbing picture of both the on-air and behind-the-scenes conduct carried out by Fox’s television personalities and top executives. Ailes has since denied the allegations, calling Carlson’s lawsuit a “retaliatory” effort for the decision not to renew her contract. Fox has launched an internal review into the matter.
