She accused Fox News of fostering a “toxic atmosphere that victimizes women.”
Fox News has settled a pair of lawsuits filed by a former employee for $12 million, according to a statement issued Friday by the employee’s attorney, marking the latest settlement for the network as it faces a series of legal challenges.
Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, a senior reserve who worked with Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, had filed two lawsuits accusing the network of fostering a “toxic environment victimizing women” and alleging that its legal team “coerced her, intimidated her and misinformed her.” fought the lawsuit brought by the domain voting systems.
The settlement comes just two months after the network settled a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems for a record $787.5 million.
In a statement, Grossberg said he was “aware that Fox News has taken me and my legal claims seriously.”
“While I stand by my publicly filed claims and allegations, in light of today’s $12 million settlement, under which I have now withdrawn those claims, I am pleased that Fox News has took me and my legal claims seriously,” Grossberg said. “I am hopeful, based on our discussions with Fox News today, that this resolution represents a positive step for the Network regarding the treatment of women and minorities in the workplace.”
A Fox spokesman said Friday: “We are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation.”
View of Fox News headquarters in New York, February 17, 2020.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Fox News had previously denied Grossberg’s claims, calling her suits “full of false accusations.”
As part of her lawsuits, which were filed in New York and Delaware, Grossberg said Fox News lawyers “conditioned and coerced” her into providing answers designed to obfuscate or minimize her knowledge of the inner workings of the network in preparation for its deposition as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against the network.
“Ms. Grossberg felt sick to her stomach with fear, uncertainty and confusion when she realized what her employer wanted her to do under oath and felt incredibly alone and helpless,” Grossberg’s lawyers wrote.
Grossberg’s lawsuits also questioned Fox News’ alleged treatment of its employees, describing it as an environment where “female workers are verbally violated almost daily by a poisonous and entrenched patriarchy.”
