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 Eleven current and former Fox employees, including news
anchor Kelly Wright, filed an amended lawsuit in New York state
court on Tuesday claiming they were demeaned, humiliated, paid
less than white coworkers, and passed over for promotions.
The lawsuit was originally filed last month by two Fox News
payroll employees. Tuesday's complaint added class action racial
discrimination claims.
Separately on Tuesday, a former Fox News accounts payable
specialist, Adasa Blanco, filed a lawsuit in federal court in
New York claiming her complaints about racial discrimination
were ignored and she was forced to quit in 2013 as a result.
A Fox News spokesperson in a statement said the network
vehemently denies the claims and "will vigorously defend these
cases. "In both cases, the plaintiffs say they were ridiculed
and mocked by former Fox News senior vice president and
comptroller Judith Slater because of their race.
They say Fox executives including Dianne Brandi, the network's
top lawyer, told them nothing could be done because Slater knew
too much about unspecified "improprieties" committed by former
network chief Roger Ailes and top-rated commentator Bill
O’Reilly.
Fox said Slater was fired in February in response to the
complaints.
Catherine Foti, a lawyer for Slater, in a statement said the
claims were "frivolous" and "solely aimed at generating
headlines, inflaming racial tensions and poisoning potential
jury pools and judges. "The new racial discrimination
allegations came after Fox on April 19 said it had ousted
O’Reilly over sexual harassment claims. Ailes was forced out
last year after a sexual harassment lawsuit by former anchor
Gretchen Carlson, which was settled for $20 million.
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Both Ailes and O'Reilly have denied any wrongdoing.
In Tuesday's lawsuit, Wright, who co-anchors the Fox show "America's
News Headquarters," said that on two occasions his requests to
appear on O'Reilly's show to discuss race issues were rejected.
But O'Reilly did suggest that Wright, who is also a gospel singer,
perform at a Fox holiday party, according to the lawsuit.
"Rather than treat Mr. Wright as the two-time Emmy award winner that
he is, Mr. O'Reilly viewed him as a singing entertainer," Wright's
lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
A spokesman for O'Reilly declined to comment.
Wigdor's law firm also represents Blanco and Lidia Curanaj, a
reporter for a Fox affiliate in New York who claims in a lawsuit
that she was retaliated against for complaining about sexual
harassment.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York and Joseph Ax in
New York; Editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio)
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