Former Fox News Producer Sues the Network and Several of its Executives for Discrimination

Abby Grossberg filed a discrimination lawsuit against Fox New, Tucker Carlson, and other executives and producers. She claims that on her first day working on Carlson’s show in September 2022, she arrived at the office and was received by pictures of Nancy Pelosi in a swimsuit that revealed her cleavage. These pictures had been put up all over the office with the purpose of making fun of how Pelosi looked in her swimsuit. Grossberg’s lawsuit also described hostile and sexist behavior towards host Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo had been called “crazy”, “menopausal”, “hysterical”, and “not as credible as male anchors” by Fox News executives and producers.

Ms. Grossberg had over a decade of broadcast journalism experience before she started working for Fox News in 2019. First, she worked for Bartiromo’s show “Sunday Morning Futures” and in 2022, she began working for Carlson’s show. On March 20, 2023, Grossberg was placed on a “forced administrative leave” and was terminated on the 23^rd, after Fox News filed a preemptive lawsuit against her.  A Fox News spokesperson stated that Grossberg’s lawyer threatened to release details from confidential conversations she had with Fox News attorneys regarding Dominion’s Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation case. The network filed a temporary restraining order to protect their rights.

The lawsuit filed by Ms. Grossberg includes many instances of “overt sexism” among employees of Carlson’s show. Staffers often discussed sexual relations regarding female coworkers and guests, criticized women with tattoos, nose piercings, or colored hair, and claimed that nursing rooms were a waste of space. She also alleges that she was overworked, undervalued, and treated significantly worse than her male counterparts while working on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

Grossberg’s lawyer stated that the lawsuit portrays the graphic indication of the way the culture at Fox depicts women. The lawsuit also alleges that lawyers for Fox News pressured and intimidated Grossberg into giving a misleading statement during her testimony for the Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox. Fox News’ lawyers met with Grossberg at least three times and she was deposed on September 14, 2022, for her connection with Dominion’s lawsuit. She claims that she received coaching from the networks lawyers to avoid naming specific male executives, provide false answers when asked how Fox News viewed the importance of ratings, and to answer questions as evasively as she can. On March 20, 2023, Grossberg submitted revised answers for her deposition taken for Dominion’s lawsuit. She admitted that she falsely answered “yes” when asked if she trusted the producers at Fox News. She stated that the producers are not journalist, they are simply imposing their political agendas on the programming.

Dominion sued Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, in March 2021, claiming it slandered company when the network permitted two pro-Trump attorneys, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, to push a false narrative regarding the election technology company. Giuliani and Powell came on air to share a false theory claiming the company gave Donald Trumps’ votes to President Joe Biden.