Fox News and Fox Business host Eric Bolling has given his first reaction to claims that he sexually harassed women at Fox over the years, which included texting lewd images to women who had not asked for them.
Bolling took to Twitter Monday morning thanking his supporters and adding that he looks forward “to clearing my name asap.”
Overwhelmed by all the support I have received. Thank you
AdvertisementI look forward to clearing my name asap
— Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) August 7, 2017
Bolling remains suspended from the network, as Fox continues to take a zero tolerance policy toward such accusations with swift investigations and, often, dismissals.
Bolling’s stand comes as Caroline Heldman, a politics professor at Occidental Colleage, who appeared on Fox News and Fox Business from 2008-2011, says she was harassed by Bolling on air and off over the years. In a Facebook post Saturday, not long after Bolling was suspended, Heldman wrote a Facebook post about Bolling’s behavior:
Bolling would also contact me via phone and text after shows, sometimes to apologize for his behavior (and then do it again), and sometimes just to talk. He said he wanted to fly me out to New York for in-studio hits and to have “fun.” He asked me to have meals with him on several occasions, but I found excuses not to go. Once, he took me up to his office in New York, showed me his baseball jerseys, and in the brief time I was there, let me know that his office was his favorite place to have sex. I know other women have had similar experiences with Bolling, which means that lots of folks at Fox knew about his behavior well before 2017.
“We are investigating this matter and all claims will be taken into account,” Fox News said in a statement about Heldman’s post.
Heldman is hopeful that “new management will effectively shift” what had been a pervasive culture of harassment at the highest ranks of the network.