21st Century Fox quietly paid a “high six figure” sum to former Fox anchor Juliet Huddy following allegations of sexual harassment against Fox News’s biggest star Bill O’Reilly.
LawNewz reports the settlement occurred before any lawsuit was filed but after the site, as well as the New York Times, received a draft letter of the intent to sue. According to the Times:
The letter includes allegations that Mr. O’Reilly had called Ms. Huddy repeatedly and that it sometimes sounded like he was masturbating. He invited her to his house on Long Island, tried to kiss her, took her to dinner and the theater, and after asking her to return a key to his hotel room, appeared at the door in his boxer shorts.
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Huddy also made allegations about Jack Abernethy, who was elevated to co-president of Fox News after the ouster of Roger Ailes in July. A person familiar with the situation tells us the company was aware of the allegations against Abernethy, and believed them to be false, signing him to a multi-year contract.
“The letter contains substantial falsehoods, which both men have vehemently denied,” Fox News spokesperson Irena Briganti adds.
Huddy’s father, John Huddy Sr., was an old friend of Ailes. Juliet Huddy’s brother, John, works for Fox News as a Middle East correspondent.
Most recently Huddy co-anchored early morning show Good Day Wake Up on Fox-owned station WNYW in New York. Before joining Fox5 in 2012, Huddy spent 14 years in several roles at Fox News Channel, starting as a Miami correspondent. In 2007, she was named co-host of the syndicated Morning Show with Mike and Juliet which was cancelled in 2009.
After more than 18 years, and several stops inside Fox, Huddy left the company in September. At the time she said she planned to launch a website covering the music industry.