INTIMIDATION: Producer sues Fox News over “coercive” tactics in shaping Dominion testimony
UPDATE: It didn’t take long for a Fox News producer to prevail against her employer’s attempts to silence her. The network filed its case on Monday, the same day Abby Grossberg filed both of hers. They dropped it just as quickly the next day, filing suit in the same court to discontinue the proceedings, according to the Daily Beast.
ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES BELOW:
Abby Grossberg, a producer for Fox News, is suing, after she says the network used “coercive and intimidating” tactics to shape her testimony in the defamation lawsuit filed against the network by Dominion Voting Systems in order to let her and one female host, Maria Bartiromo, take the fall.
Meanwhile, the network is suing her to keep her from disclosing information it argues is “privileged.”
Both lawsuits were filed on Monday, with Grossberg alleging that attorneys hired by Fox News insinuated to her in coaching sessions that, when she was deposed in the Dominion case, she should admit to her own role — a certain amount of foreknowledge of subject matter certain guests would address — while avoiding mention of the “on-air talent” and certain top-level male executives.
Grossberg says this stems from the network’s lack of respect for women.
Grossberg’s attorney, Parisis G. Filippatos, says that thanks to Fox News‘s suit, the case will be heard not only in the two courts where the producer filed — Southern District of New York, and Superior Court in Delaware — but in the third, Supreme Court of New York, where the network filed its case, and that she’s confident her client will prevail in all three.
Dominion Voting Systems has sued Fox News — as well as a lengthy list of other defendants including Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell — over conspiracy theories spread about the company following the 2020 election.
Without evidence, guests on the network and across other conservative media have spread claims that the voting machine company used software to alter outcomes, flipping votes from Trump to Biden.
As the case proceeded, though, Grossberg — who is now on forced administrative leave from Fox News — says that attorneys for the network coached her testimony, and she feels she was coerced into giving misleading responses in her deposition.
She’s also spilling on the toxic work environment.
From The New York Times:
“Mr. Carlson’s staff joked about Jews and freely deployed a vulgar term for women, according to the complaint…After Ms. Grossberg complained about harassment from two male producers on the show, she was pulled into a meeting with human resources and told that she was not performing her duties.”
She also described being asked about Maria Bartiromo’s sex life (specifically, whether the host was having an affair with Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy); witnessing an area of Tucker Carlson’s workspace decorated with photos of Representative Nancy Pelosi (then the House Speaker) wearing a provocative swimsuit; and Carlson’s staff holding a debate about which candidate for Michigan Governor they’d rather have sex with, Republican Tudor Dixon or Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, as well as witnessing that the culture of the show included antisemitic and sexist remarks.
Fox News responded with a lawsuit of its own, according to The Daily Beast, requesting a restraining order to stop Grossberg from disclosing this information.
They say she’s making public information that is covered under attorney-client privilege, and that sharing her experience will “violate Fox News’ right to maintain the confidentiality of those communications under the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine.”
The network does not seem to be directly addressing Grossberg’s other claims regarding sexual harassment and a work environment flooded with sexism and other bigotry.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
