On Thursday, Rupert Murdoch sat down for an interview with Sky News, in which the 21st Century Fox executive chairman talked about the recently unveiled Disney deal and the multiple sexual misconduct claims that have been made against Fox News figures, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
When asked by Sky News host Ian King, “How harmful has the whole raft of sexual harassment allegations been for the business?,” Murdoch said, “That’s all nonsense.”
His remarks, including suggesting that former CEO Roger Ailes was the only Fox News figure to face allegations, have received backlash.
In response, 21st Century Fox released the following statement from a spokesperson:
“Rupert never characterized the sexual harassment matters at Fox News as ‘nonsense.’ Rather, he responded negatively to the suggestion that sexual harassment issues were an obstacle to the company’s bid for the rest of Sky. Under Rupert’s leadership and with his total support, the company exited Roger Ailes, compensated numerous women who were mistreated; trained virtually all of its employees; exited its biggest star; and hired a new head of HR. By his actions, Rupert has made it abundantly clear that he understands that there were real problems at Fox News. Rupert values all of the hard-working colleagues at Fox News, and will continue to address these matters to ensure Fox News maintains its commitment to having a work environment based on the values of trust and respect.”In the interview, Murdoch said, “We had a problem with our chief executive, sort of, over the years, but isolated incidents. As soon as we investigated, he was out of the place in hours, well, three or four days. And there’s been nothing else since then.”
In fact, the time period from when former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson sued Ailes for sexual harassment to his resignation — during which time at least seven more women, including then-high-profile host Megyn Kelly, accused Ailes of harassing them — spanned more than two weeks, with Carlson filing her lawsuit on July 6 and Ailes resigning on July 21.
And Tamara Holder, the former Fox News contributor who received a financial settlement with the company after disclosing sexual misconduct, broke her silence today and said that Rupert Murdoch is “a liar or he’s delusional and old and needs to get out.”
Holder’s comments, made during a blistering appearance on CNN’s Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter, came in response to statements made by Murdoch earlier this week. The executive chairman of 21st Century Fox dismissed sexual harassment allegations against Fox News staffers as “all nonsense.”
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