On Wednesday morning, a legal representative for former Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox CEO Roger Ailes, claiming that Ailes retaliated against her after she denied his sexual advances. Now six more women have come forward with similar claims, alleging Ailes sexually harassed them over the course of multiple decades.
Following the news of Carlson's high profile allegations against Ailes, more than a dozen additional women contacted Carlson's attorney Nancy Erika Smith and alleged they had endured sexual harassment from Ailes dating back to the 1960's when he was a producer on The Mike Douglas Show. "These are women who have never told these stories until now," Smith told a reporter at New York Magazine. The allegations from these women portray Ailes as a boss who expected sexual favors in return for job opportunities.
Of the additional women who came forward, six agreed to speak with New York Magazine about their stories. Only two of those women went on the record, with the other four requesting to remain anonymous for fear of public shaming.
Kellie Boyle, a 54-year-old former Republican National Committee field advisor, alleged that Ailes sexually harassed her in 1989 when she was 29 and living in New Jersey. After a friendly dinner in D.C., Ailes said to her, "You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys," according to Boyle. He went on to say that she "might have to give a blowjob every once in a while."
Former model Marsha Callahan, 73, alleged that in '68 or '67 Ailes told her to lift her skirt up when she came to his office to speak with him about a possible appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. He went on to say that she would need to sleep with him to get on the show, according to Callahan's testimony. Another former model alleged that she was 16 years old when Ailes pulled out his genitals and said, "Kiss them," after locking the door to his office. The model, who chose to remain anonymous, said that Ailes told her to never say anything about it to anyone after she rejected his advances.
Another former model who chose to remain anonymous said Ailes pressured her into modeling a garter belt and stockings for him in his office and that something sexual took place but she blocked it out of her mind. A 69-year-old media consultant who chose to remain anonymous said that in '65 or '66 Ailes forced her to kiss him behind closed doors during an audition for The Mike Douglas Show. When she refused, he said, "Well you know no girls here get a job unless they're cooperative," according to her personal account. The last woman who came forward alleged that in 1975 Ailes told her she would have to have sex with him and several other men if she wanted a career in TV during an interview at Ailes' apartment.
Ailes' lawyer Barry Asen, in reference to the lawsuits, sent Complex this comment: "It has become obvious that Ms. Carlson and her lawyer are desperately attempting to litigate this in the press because they have no legal case to argue. The latest allegations, all 30 to 50 years old, are false."
