During her blistering 4-minute monologue on her NBC morning show about the, at times, loathsome culture at Fox News, Megyn Kelly conveyed particular ire for media relations chief Irena Briganti.
“At Fox News the media relations chief, Irena Briganti, is known for her vindictiveness,” Kelly said. “To this day, she pushes negative articles on certain Ailes accusers, like the one you are looking at right now,” said Kelly referring to herself.
Briganti was again mentioned in a segment with another O’Reilly accuser, former anchor Juliet Huddy.
Attorney Douglas Wigdor, who has handled claims for 22 accusers, said Briganti has been using her office to shame women who’ve complained about harassment. “They have a big playbook. But that’s a central part of it. She has outed victims,” said Wigdor. “When people complained at Fox News, they were retaliated (against).”
Briganti has headed up Fox News media relations for the last 4 years. She took over for Brian Lewis, a Roger Ailes confidant who fell out of favor with network chief, and was dismissed in 2013. Briganti has been with Fox News since it launched 22 years ago.
We reached out to Briganti for comment. She referred us to 21st Century Fox spokesperson Nathaniel Brown who said, “Irena is a valued colleague and she has our full support.”