NEW YORK—Fox News responded to sexual harassment charges levied against the network by former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros Monday by arguing in a court filing that the broadcaster is “not a victim” but rather “an opportunist.”
Tantaros last week filed her lawsuit against the network, former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and other Fox executives.
The charges came in the wake of an earlier suit filed in July by former Fox News broadcaster Gretchen Carlson, who alleged that the 76-year old Ailes decided not to renew her contract after she refused to have sex with him. Carlson also claimed that Ailes ignored her reports of “disparaging treatment in the newsroom.”
Ailes who has denied the charges, stepped down July 22 and left the conservative-leaning network with a $40 million severance package.
In her own suit, Tantaros said that “Fox News masquerades as defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency, and misogyny.”
