Ed Henry, a former Fox News anchor who was dismissed in 2020 following allegations of sexual misconduct, is now facing accusations of assaulting another colleague post his return from a company-enforced 'sex addiction rehab program.
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Henry, who currently hosts a show on Newsmax, a rival network, has categorically denied all accusations. These revelations surfaced amidst ongoing legal proceedings against the network.
According to the Daily Mail, Jennifer Eckhart, a former associate producer for Fox Business Network, initiated a lawsuit against Henry in 2020. She alleged that Fox News contravened federal sex-trafficking laws, asserting that the network should have been aware that Henry coerced her into a commercial sex act.
As the legal battle continues, Michael J. Wilemin, Eckhart's attorney, has submitted a 39-page motion to counter Fox's attempt to secure a summary judgement. The document includes new allegations that another Fox News employee was assaulted by Henry, despite several colleagues alerting the network's top executives.
The motion also highlights that Fox had previously suspended Henry from covering Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign following his alleged affair with a Las Vegas cocktail waitress. Subsequently, the network sent him to a sex addiction rehab program. The lawsuit argues that these actions indicate Fox's awareness of Henry's 'significant risk' and their failure to investigate past allegations against him. It suggests that Henry's issues were not limited to 'a single consensual affair' but extended to persistent 'workplace sexual misconduct.'
Upon Henry's return from what some referred to as 'sex addict's camp,' an anonymous staffer alleged she was sexually assaulted by the anchor. Willemin wrote, 'Fox News' treatment of Mr. Henry following his return to the network only served to embolden him, as he escalated his abusive treatment of women by not only raping Ms. Eckhart, but also sexually assaulting another Fox News colleague.'
Willemin further alleges that the network's Washington bureau assisted Henry in concealing allegations of sexting using a Fox-issued phone and engaging in an inappropriate 'sexual relationship' with another co-worker. The co-worker, who was 22 at the time, claimed that Henry, her superior, was a 'predator' who coerced her into having sex in his office. She also alleges that he sent her an unsolicited photo of his penis, which she reported to Fox colleagues in 2016, prior to Henry's suspension or Eckhart's allegations.
Willemin cites a conversation between Fox Business anchor Liz Claman and Eckhart in 2016, where Claman stated, 'Everyone at Fox News knows that Ed Henry is a sex addict. That's no secret.' He also references a former colleague at CNN, where Henry worked until 2011, who posted on X after the allegations: 'No chance @foxnews didn't know about Ed Henry. He was a menace to many of us on the comms side when he was @cnn and everyone talked about it. Literally so so so gross.'
The motion also includes a page and a half of additional sexual misconduct allegations against Fox News employees, some of whom are still employed at the company. In response to these allegations, the network reiterated its denial of any wrongdoing in a statement to Mediaite.
Willemin countered with a statement, asserting, 'As made clear in today's filings, there is no merit to Fox News' or Ed Henry's desperate attempts to extricate themselves from this case.' He added, 'We firmly believe that Fox News and Mr. Henry are going to be held accountable by a jury or Ms. Eckhart's peers, and we are very much looking forward to pushing this case to trial.'
Eckhart expressed her solidarity with other victims on her Instagram story, stating, 'My heart goes out to every other woman that has suffered at the hands of Ed Henry as we have learned in the discovery process of this case that I am not the only survivor and Fox News employee he has groomed and sexually assaulted.' She added, 'I eagerly await my day in court to cast even more light on the immorality of the culture the network continues to promote, and the countless other survivors that have suffered at the hands of pure evil.'
Henry was dismissed in June 2020 after the network investigated him for 'willful sexual misconduct in the workplace.' Fox News stated that upon learning of Jennifer Eckhart's allegations in 2020, they promptly conducted an investigation by an outside independent law firm, which resulted in senior management and HR terminating Ed Henry within six days.
Eckhart subsequently sued Henry and the network for what she alleges was a rape in 2017. Her lawsuit also claimed that Henry had targeted her and other women who responded to his advances due to fears about their job security.
Henry later moved to Real America's Voice, where he was accused of sending a younger staffer a photo of himself with a stripper, as reported by The Daily Beast. Since 2022, Henry has been employed at Newsmax.
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