Laura Luhn, a former executive at Fox News, filed a new lawsuit against the network and its then-parent company over claims that ex-network head Roger Ailes abused her and attempted to blackmail her.
The lawsuit also names Bill Shine, the former co-president of Fox News. In the filing in the New York Supreme Court, Luhn claimed that Ailes, who died in 2017, used his position to trap her in a “decades-long cycle of sexual abuse.” “To ensure her compliance and public silence, Ailes photographed and videotaped Luhn in compromising positions—blackmail material that he explicitly described as his ‘insurance policy’—and made clear to Luhn that any attempt to speak out or stop the abuse would result in severe personal humiliation and career ruin,” the suit claims.
The lawsuit claims that Fox’s corporate leadership, at the network and parent company, knew of Ailes’ conduct “yet did nothing to stop it.” Luhn filed her lawsuit under the state’s Adult Survivor’s Act, signed last year, which gave plaintiffs in sexual abuse cases a one-year window to file new claims regardless of the statute of limitations.
Luhn left Fox News in 2011. She claims that the years of abuse led her to a mental breakdown and that Shine “took it upon himself” to control her “personal life, manage her medical care, and ensure her public silence about the sexual abuse.” That included her signing a release of her claims. “With the fear of Ailes or Fox News spreading compromising photographs and videos, and with the knowledge of the aggressive personal attacks against other Fox News accusers, Luhn capitulated, receiving a severance equal only to payment for her wages until retirement age,” the lawsuit claims.
Read more on deadline.com
Get the latest stars news and celebrity rumours with exclusive stories, photos, videos and interviews.
Breaking up, scandals, engagements, divorces, gossip – all you need to know about the private lives of your favorite celebs.
Get to know the latest showbiz news along with exclusive interviews and even more. All this is waiting for you on the main page 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Who, where, when, with whom, how, why and for what!? Stay tuned to know first!
Just follow us daily and we will provide you with the current news from the life of famous stars and celebrities.
Owner: SNOWLAND s.r.o.
Registration certificate 06691200
Address:
Snowland s.r.o.
16200, Na okraji 381/41, Veleslavín, 162 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic
©2024. All rights reserved.