Fox News CEO Roger Ailes denies Gretchen Carlson claims, vows to defend himself amidst lawsuit

Earlier today, the news was first announced that Gretchen Carlson was no longer at Fox News, but it went so much deeper than that. She also had filed suit against the network’s chairman and CEO Roger Ailes over claims that she was sexually harassed in the workplace and was terminated in part because she would not give in to what he supposedly wanted.

We knew that Ailes was going to come back with a blistering response, and he did that today with a statement of his own:

“Gretchen Carlson’s allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for [Fox News’] decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit.

“This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive … it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.”

21st Century Fox also issued a statement saying that while they are confident in Ailes along with Steve Doocy (also named in the suit), they are conducting an internal review of the matter to determine if there was any wrongdoing. For them, obviously this is a matter they would like to see resolved in one way or another in the near future. Just like all cable news networks, Fox News at present stands to generate a significant amount of revenue later this year thanks to the Presidential election; as a result of that, they are probably hoping to avoid as many negative headlines as possible.

Want to get some other news on all we cover at CarterMatt? Then be sure to sign up for our official newsletter. (Photo: Fox News.)