If you ask the general public, Fox News Network has a long history of bias, specifically conservative, news coverage. Over the years, the network has been called out and criticized by several big-name celebrities and political figures for their tendency to support the Republican Party and its conservative views. On the other hand, throughout Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and subsequent presidential-era, the celebrity-in-chief has praised the network for its positive outlook of his actions and presidency.
Despite a presidential co-sign, the network is in hot water for their prejudices. According to USA Today, Fox News is facing a lawsuit for racial discrimination against two black women. Both women were employees of the network, however, according to the suit, once the channel found out about the allegations, one woman was fired and the other was demoted.
On Tuesday, Tichaona Brown and Tabrese Wright took their concerns to the Supreme Court by filing a lawsuit against the network, citing “years-long racial animus” from a former senior vice president and company controller named, Judith Slater, against “dark-skinned employees.”
In the suit, the women say that Slater “ridiculed black employees by mocking stereotyped speech,” and forced them to enunciate their words “in front of white employees.” The suit said Slater believed the Black Lives Matter movement was racist, “and wondered what would happen if there was a parallel ‘White Lives Matter’ movement.” In addition, Slater reportedly inquired about Wright’s children, asking if they “were fathered by the same man.”
“No longer willing to remain silent while Fox treated employees of color as second class citizens, Ms. Brown and Ms. Wright dared to speak out about the intolerable work environment, including their unequal pay and opportunities for advancement and development as compared to similarly-situated white employees,” the lawsuit states, adding that the former executive created a “racially hostile work environment,” which Fox allowed.
“We are confident that the good men and women of the Bronx will hold Fox accountable for what we believe to be its abhorrent racist conduct reminiscent of the Jim Crow era,” the women’s counsel said in a statement.
In turn, the network released a statement, saying that they took action against the allegations before the women took them to court.
“We take complaints of this nature very seriously and took prompt and effective remedial action before Ms. Brown and Ms. Wright sued in court and even before Ms. Wright complained through her lawyer.
“There is no place for inappropriate verbal remarks like this at Fox News,” the company statement added. “We are disappointed that this needless litigation has been filed.”
Contrary to the allegations in the suit, Fox says Brown was not fired, and Wright was not demoted, but instead transferred to another position with the same salary, work title, and benefits.
The news of the lawsuit, though filed earlier this week, comes on the heels of Bill O’Rielly’s comments about Rep. Maxine Waters, coincidently broadcasted on Fox News.
Waters spoke in Washington, D.C. about the destruction Donald Trump is about or has already caused to this country. However, when asked about her powerful statement, O’Rielly said, “I didn’t hear a word she said, I was looking at the James Brown wig,” sparking a major movement on social media with Twitter users using the hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork to shed light on the discrimination women face in the workplace.
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