When faced with a dull gossip day, Lloyd Grove knows what to do: Create some confrontation! As noted in this space yesterday, Grove lunched at Michael’s with Soledad O’Brien yesterday. Roger Ailes and Paula Zahn were there, too. (Zahn left FNC for CNN; Ailes compared her to a “dead raccoon.” Grove picks up the story:
| “Initially, Ailes didn’t notice Zahn when he arrived at the restaurant and schmoozed with me. When I alerted Ailes that Zahn was sitting right next to us at Table 3, four feet from Ailes’ usual corner berth at Table 4 — he flashed a look of alarm and headed into the midst of the dining room to confer with Michael’s general manager Steve Millington. I’m told that Millington, thinking that Ailes and Zahn wouldn’t want to look at each other while they ate, directed Ailes to Table 18, a safe distance away. Ailes sat there for a minute but then thought better of it and claimed his usual table right next to Zahn. “You can pretend we’re not here,” Ailes suggested. Zahn gave him an icy smile. “Oh,” she purred, “we don’t have to pretend anything.” |
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