Fox News host Andrea Tantaros is likely to be terminated by the network soon, a source close to the situation told Business Insider on Monday.
The source said Tantaros would likely have her pay cut off and contract severed in the immediate future, but did not say precisely when.
The development comes as Tantaros, through her lawyer, alleged in a New York Magazine story published Monday that she was sexually harassed by former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes and complained multiple times in 2015.
Fox News’ attorneys disputed Tantaros’ sexual-harassment allegations. They told New York Magazine that she was suspended with pay because she didn’t allow the network to vet her book, which the lawyers said violated her contract.
Tantaros, an unabashedly conservative host who was seen as a rising star inside Fox News, had not appeared on the cable news network since April 25.
According to Politico, a source with knowledge of the legal proceedings denied that Tantaros ever complained about Ailes to Shine or Fox HR, saying she made complaints about others, a mix of Fox employees and guests, which the source said was investigated.
The source said the contract dispute was about how Tantaros did not follow Fox protocols with her book, "Tied Up In Knots," which was released in April and published by Harper Collins, a NewsCorp division which is owned by Fox News owner and now-CEO Rupert Murdoch. Among other requirements, Fox employees wishing to write a book must submit a detailed outline and a writing schedule as required by their contracts. The source said Tantaros did not share a writing schedule and only offered a "rough" half-page outline of her book.
"The first time Fox heard she was about to publish a book was when she held it up on her television show," the source said. "Fox didn't approve of the title, 'Tied Up In Knots,' Fox didn't approve of the cover showing her in a submissive pose, which is hardly the type of image Fox wants its female on air hosts to be sent to the world."
In March of 2016, Tantaros was called in for an interview by HR and Fox general counsel Dianne Brandi, and an investigation took place. During the interview, which took place in April, Ailes' name never came up, the source said.
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