Fox News Denies Lawsuit Filed by Britt McHenry Over Alleged Sexual Harassment

She alleges former co-host Tyrus harassed her in person and via text messages

Britt McHenry in a file photo. Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images

Fox News denied allegations from Fox Nation host Britt McHenry after she sued the network and former co-host Tyrus for alleged sexual harassment.

Tyrus, born George Murdoch, hosted the Fox Nation show “Un-PC” with McHenry from December 2018 to February 2019.

Now, McHenry is accusing Murdoch of harassing her via “sexually inappropriate comments to her in person, and also via text message” on several occasions, reported USA Today.

She alleged that when she spoke to Fox about it, she was denied “professional opportunities while simultaneously promoting” Murdoch at the network, according to her complaint.

Fox issued a statement about the lawsuit on Wednesday.

George "Tyrus" Murdoch in a file photo. Aaron Harris/Getty Images

Her lawsuit “recycles the same allegations she filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights in October, to which we filed a response on Friday. As we have previously stated, Ms. McHenry’s allegations have been fully investigated and we are confident our actions will be deemed entirely appropriate in litigation. We expect all of her claims to be dismissed,” according to CBS News.

Through an attorney, Murdoch denied the allegations in the suit. He will now pursue defamation counterclaims, reports said.

“He looks forward to having a public forum in the court system to clear his name from the smear campaign that has been waged against him in the media,” the lawyer said in a statement.

Allegations

“The last thing I wanted to do was filed (sic) this lawsuit,” McHenry was quoted by USA Today as saying. “But I had to stand up for what’s right for myself.”

The lawsuit claimed she “politely replied to his grossly sexualized texts with friendly but non-sexual responses” and feared Murdoch’s “volatile tendencies,” the paper said. McHenry then said she first told Fox News about the harassment in January, and the executive producer of “Un-PC,” Jennifer Rauchet, disputed her claims.

“Ms. McHenry, crying, once again went to Ms. Rauchet to make a third report about Mr. Murdoch’s sexual harassment and retaliatory abuse. Ms. Rauchet responded by telling her not to complain–that she was ‘replaceable,’ and that Fox News had never wanted her. When Ms. McHenry tried to continue the conversation, Ms. Rauchet physically walked out on her,” the suit alleged, reported the New York Daily News.

McHenry, who previously worked for ESPN, still hosts the “Un-PC” show. Murdoch, meanwhile, currently hosts “Nuff Said” on Fox Nation.

“As a result of her treatment by Defendants, Ms. McHenry has suffered humiliation, emotional anguish, derailment of her career, and significant loss of economic opportunities,” her lawsuit argued, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “Since her sexual harassment complaint, Ms. McHenry has been effectively frozen out by Fox News management. In the past, Fox News managers and executives would check in with Ms. McHenry or stop in to watch her show, but she has not heard from any of them since making her sexual harassment complaint.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, she previously filed a complaint with New York State’s Division of Human Rights earlier this fall.