Fox News Settled With Fmr. Anchor Over Harrassment

Juliet Huddy

Fox News several months ago reached a financial settlement with a former on-air personality, who claimed she was sexually harassed by two top figures at the cable news network, according to a person familiar with the matter.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the allegations by Juliet Huddy, a former host at Fox News and New York TV station WNYW-TV, were made in a letter from her attorney to Fox News, the person said. The letter claimed she had been harassed by star anchor Bill O’Reilly, host of “The O’Reilly Factor” and Fox News co-President Jack Abernethy, who is also chief executive of the Fox Television Stations unit, which houses WNYW-TV.

Fox News paid a six-figure settlement to Ms. Huddy, but believes the claims are false, the person said.

In a statement late Monday, the network said the letter from Ms. Huddy’s attorney “contains substantial falsehoods which both men vehemently denied.”

The settlement and Ms. Huddy’s claims against Messrs. O’Reilly and Abernethy were first reported by LawNewz.com.

Ms. Huddy’s father, John Huddy, served as a consultant to Fox News under Mr. Ailes for many years but left the network soon after Mr. Ailes, the Fox News spokeswoman said.