Fox News Slams Tantaros As ‘Wannabe’ And ‘Opportunist’ In Response To Suit

In its first court filing in response to Andrea Tantaros’ lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by former CEO Roger Ailes, Fox News characterizes Tantaros as “an opportunist” and “wannabe” and asked the court to push the case into closed-door arbitration.

The response, filed in New York Supreme Court on Monday, accuses Tantaros of piggy-backing on the torrent of sexual harassment allegations that eventually forced Ailes’ resignation. Tantaros sued the network and top executives last week, charging that she had been demoted after reporting sexual harassment by Ailes, whom she alleged was sheltered by the “Playboy Mansion-like cult” of the network.

“Tantaros is not a victim; she is an opportunist,” Fox News’ attorneys wrote. Tantaros’ complaint, which named Fox News executives Bill Shine, Dianne Brandi, Suzanne Scott and PR chief Irena Briganti as defendants along with Ailes, “bears all the hallmarks of the ‘wannabe’: she claims that she too was victimized by Roger Ailes, when, in fact, contrary to her pleading, she never complained of any such conduct in the course of an investigation months ago.”

The network says that Tantaros was pulled off the air in April for breaching her contract by not seeking the network’s approval to publish her book, which features her in “a submissive and sexualized position” bound in ropes on its cover. Tantaros remains on the network’s payroll.

The filing states that 21st Century Fox, the network’s parent company, “has made clear its commitment to providing a safe and dignified workplace” in “the last few weeks” by launching an independent investigation into the allegations against Ailes.

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