Multiple outlets on Tuesday afternoon reported that Fox News Chief Roger Ailes is officially out at the network he launched and developed into a profit-center for 21st Century Fox, although the company continues to avoid providing official confirmation.
Ailes is under fire after former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. Earlier on Tuesday, New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman reported that Fox News star Megyn Kelly, who had remained conspicuously quiet up to this point, told internal investigators that she too had been sexually harassed some ten years ago.
On Monday, Sherman was the first to report that the Murdochs — patriarch Rupert and his two sons James and Lachlan, who currently are charged with the day-to-day running of 21st Century Fox — were united in getting rid of Ailes.
RELATED: Fox News’ Roger Ailes Expected to be Out
After Sherman’s Tuesday story on Kelly, the Drudge Reported tweeted “Ailes Leaves Fox News $40+ Million Parachute,” complete with an image of the document detailing the agreement.
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Drudge pulled that tweet just a few minutes later, as well as the report on his website. The story was replaced with a statement from Ailes’ attorney, Susan Estrich, saying: “Roger Ailes has never sexually harassed Megyn Kelly. In fact, he has spent much of the last decade promoting and helping her to achieve the stardom she earned, for which she has repeatedly and publicly thanked him.”
A representative of 21st Century Fox released a statement saying: “Roger is at work. The review is ongoing. And the only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement.”
That said, The Daily Beast’s Lloyd Grove earlier reported that he had gotten an official confirmation from Fox News that Ailes was in fact leaving, only to have the network “subsequently walk back that confirmation.” Other outlets, including Variety, Deadline and The Financial Times, also reported that Ailes is officially out.
[Image courtesy of Variety]
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